A/N: A little later than I originally said, but still under a week! It may be a bit longer for the next chapter because there is a lot more going on that I have planned than this one. I'm trying to create small subplots that tie in stuff from FireRed and LeafGreen and canon from the anime. Anyway, thank you all who continue to read this story, and review it. I appreciate reading all of the encouragement! Special thanks to Simply-Nicole for giving me a character name when I was stuck. You should go read her stories. They are really good.

Until next time! :)

- Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

Chapter Two: Brock Used 'Attract'

A week had gone by and the three were staying on the biggest island in the Sevii Islands. They were fortunate that this island had a large Pokémon center with a few rooms for travelers. They were sleeping in a room on the second floor of the center, overlooking the ocean. The volcano was also visible from their window. It stood tall against the horizon, making Misty a bit uneasy. She thought of Blaine and his riddles. She thought about his gym relocating to the Seafoam Islands because the volcano on Cinnabar had erupted, destroying most of the island.

Ash had not told Misty about his affections toward her. He kept his emotions locked away, protected from the potential hurt they could bring. He learned to live in the moment and enjoy the time he had with Misty. Memories of their travels together pervaded his head, carrying nostalgia with them. There were times where Brock would go chase after a girl on the island, allowing for the two to have some alone time together. Misty often babbled about her Pokémon or some of the adventures of being a gym leader that she had experienced over the past few years. Ash would sit and listen to her until she would stop herself, realizing that he was staring at her the whole time. She would blush and question why he was not saying anything. He would then reply that he was listening to her. It would confuse her for moment, taking her aback by the maturity that Ash had acquired, but then she would continue on with her story.

One morning Ash and Misty were walking downstairs in the Pokémon Center to get breakfast. There was a small dining hall that served a nice little buffet. Ash had a tendency of stuffing his face every morning when they would go. Misty then would tease him, asking if he was bulking up for the winter or something. The truth was that it amazed her. Just where did he put it all? They were walking past the front desk when Nurse Joy stopped them.

"Oh Misty," she said. "You have a message here."

"Huh? Who's it from?"

"Daisy Oak," replied Nurse Joy. "She wanted you to call her back right away. She said that it was urgent."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," said Misty.

"It's my pleasure," she said before returning to her work.

Misty headed in the opposite direction, making a beeline to the videophones in the corner of the front lobby. Ash stopped in his tracks. He had continued to go toward the dining hall, but soon realized that his best friend was not with him. Sighing in disappointment, he went to join Misty with Pikachu perched on his shoulder. His stomach grumbled as he caught up to her. She was dialing the number into the phone.

"Do you have to call her now?" Ash groaned. "Can't it wait until after breakfast?"

"She said that it was urgent," Misty retorted. "You can hold on a few minutes."

"I'm going to die of starvation," he moaned, flopping down on the seat next to her.

"No, you're not," she said as the phone rang. "You can go without me, you know. Don't be such a b—oh hi Daisy."

"So you got my message!" she exclaimed on the other end. "Hi Ash!"

"Hi," he muttered, not caring to look at the one who caused a delay on breakfast.

"What is so urgent, Daisy?" Misty asked.

"Oh yeah! I have a question for you! I called the gym yesterday, but your sisters told me that you're in the Sevii Islands, so there you go."

"What's this question?"

"Oh right!" Daisy shouted on the other end. Pikachu had to block his ears because she was so loud. "I was wondering, Misty, and you can say no if you want—"

"Just spit it out already!" Misty yelled, causing Ash and Pikachu to jump.

"Will you be my Maid of Honor?"

"Me? Your Maid of Honor?"

"Yeah! C'mon, what do you say?"

"Sure, I guess…" Misty replied, and Daisy squealed and clapped her hands together in response.

"Oh and Ash," Daisy continued. "Tracey wanted me to ask you to be his best man. He'd ask you himself, but he's busy out in the field with Grandpa at the moment."

"Why does he want me to be his best man?" Ash asked, surprised. Surely, there was someone better suited for the duty than him.

"Tracey and I talked about it, and we both agree on this. If it weren't for you two, then we would not have met in the first place. So we want both of you to do us this honor. What do you say?"

"If you put it that way," Ash said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I have no choice."

"Oh Ash! Thank you! Tracey will be so happy to hear that. Now don't stay on this little vacation too long. We have so much to do before the wedding. Tracey and I are planning on having the ceremony at sunset on New Years Eve in the Orange Islands. We're not sure which island yet, but we'll let you know. I have to go now, but be sure to tell Brock that I said hi. I'll talk to you later!"

"Bye Daisy," Misty said, slightly stunned.

The screen on the video went blank, and they sat in silence for a few moments. They had been accosted with a lot of information. Misty did the math in her head. If Daisy really planned on having her wedding on New Year's Eve, then it only left about two and a half months to get everything ready. Was she that insane?

"That was not expected," Misty said, rising from her seat. Ash followed suit.

"It's still crazy to think that they are getting married," he said as they started toward the dining hall.

"Do you ever think about getting married?"

"Huh?" The image of Misty walking toward him in a white wedding dress invaded his head, which he quickly shook away.

"I mean in general."

"I don't know, Misty. I'm only 22."

"I know that. I wasn't sure if guys ever thought about that stuff," Misty said as she gathered the locks of hair flowing down her back and tied them in her signature side-pony.

"All I ever thought about growing up was Pokémon."

"Yes, I know that," Misty grumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, her strides becoming a bit faster.

"Anyway," Ash said, adjusting his gate to match hers. "Have you ever been in a wedding?"

"You mean part of the wedding party?"

"Yeah."

"Lily almost got married once. I was supposed to be a bridesmaid. Violet was going to be her Maid of Honor."

"What?" asked Ash as they reached the dining hall. "When did this happen?"

"A few years ago," she replied as she lifted a plate from the top of a stack. She proceeded to fill it with pancakes and some fruit.

"What happened?" he asked, filling a plate with ketchup for Pikachu. He handed it to the electric mouse, which took it gleefully and waddled with it over to a nearby table.

"He dumped her a couple of months before the wedding. She was crushed."

"How come you never mentioned it?" Ash asked as he began to fill his own plate.

"You were busy training to be a Pokémon Master. I didn't see the need to take up your time with my family drama. Whenever we talked, I was more interested in hearing about your travels than talking about what was going on here. It was nice because it was like I could escape everything for a little bit," she replied before turning to join Pikachu at the table.

Ash finished filling the white porcelain plate with a bit of everything. Once he was satisfied with the amount of food he grabbed, he sauntered over to the two most important beings in his life. As he sat down, Misty started relaying the events of her sister's brief engagement to a man from the coast. As he listened to her story, he thought that if all of his days were like this, then he would be happy for the rest of his life. Misty had that effect on him.

After breakfast, the two trainers went out on the beach in order to find Brock. Once Misty got outside, she took one look at the water, and smiled brightly. She pulled her dress over her head and off her body to reveal her signature periwinkle bikini. Ash caught one glimpse of her, and his face grew hot. As they continued their search for Brock, he did his best to think of unpleasant things such as dead puppies or the one time his deceased grandmother told him about what happened on her honeymoon, anything to keep his body from going crazy. He would not have another incident like the one in the pool at the Cerulean Gym.

They found him chatting up a woman in a yellow bikini near the hot springs. The two were chatting, and it appeared that Brock was not being outright rejected. She was about Misty's height. Her hair was brown and gathered together in a high ponytail, making its length indiscernible. The two young adults joined them, waving to Brock as they approached.

"Hey guys! Where have you been?" Brock called when he saw them coming closer.

"We could ask you the same question," said Misty, who gave him a small smirk. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh! This is Nicole," he said, gesturing to the dark-haired beauty. "Nicole, these are my friends, Ash and Misty."

"It's nice to meet you," they said in unison.

"The pleasure is mine," Nicole replied. "Are you enjoying your time here on the island?"

"It's great," said Misty, unable to hide her enthusiasm.

"Since you are all here, perhaps you can help me out with something."

"Whatever it is," Brock jumped in, "we'll be happy to help."

Ash and Misty groaned, knowing that Brock has gotten them in some less than stellar situations because of a girl. They had no choice to agree to help her. Brock had not known this girl for very long. Ash hoped that this girl was not a Gastly or a ghost. He did not know if he could survive another misadventure.

Brock stood with Nicole at the front of her small boat. In order to help her, they needed to go to the next island. Ash and Misty sat on the side of the ship with Pikachu, their legs dangling over the edge. The land formation grew larger on the horizon as the sun rose in the sky. It was nearly noon. Ash was anxious to reach the port. Even though this island was considerably smaller, he was excited to do something new. With a renewed wanderlust, Ash was ready for adventure, whether it was the most minuscule of kinds. He was at peace as the waves rocked the boat. His hand brushed against Misty's. As soon as he acknowledged the contact, he recoiled his arm back. He peaked at her in the corner of her eye and saw that she had done the same. They did not speak for the rest of the journey.

They landed on the dock, and Brock pretty much leapt off the boat. He offered Nicole his hand, and she declined, stating that she could get off the boat just fine on her own. Misty and Ash stepped onto the dock, still embarrassed from their awkwardness on board. Pikachu looked up at them and sighed, knowing that it was hopeless.

"Nicole! There you are!" shouted a voice from down the road.

Everyone turned to see a young man sprinting toward the dock. He was tall with a lanky build, towering over the people whom he passed on his way. His hair was brown, with reddish tints that illuminated in the sun. He wore a brilliant smile as he saw Nicole. Once reaching his destination, he doubled-over, catching his breath. He stood, after a few staggered gasps.

"Julian," she replied. "You didn't have to sprint over like that. I was coming to your shop."

"I know," he said. "I couldn't wait to see you."

"Hello," Brock said, coming in between them. "You must be her brother. It is so great to meet you."

"Brother?"

"Brock," Nicole said, suppressing a laugh. "He's not my brother. He's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Brock said, his face falling.

Ash couldn't help but suppress a laugh. Misty knew that she should have felt sorry for him, but she didn't. He did this to himself with his rash attitude. Brock fell into despair as he watched the two share a kiss and start walking toward Julian's shop, which was having a hard time getting off the ground.

"I'm so glad that you are all here to help me out," Julian said as they traveled down the road. "I think my biggest problem is getting the word out."

"It's no problem," Ash replied, relieved that there would be no supernatural adventure.

"We're happy to help," Misty added. Brock said nothing.

The three spent the afternoon passing out fliers and encouraging tourists to come visit Julian's shop. Brock used the opportunity to try to find other girls to hit on. Ash and Misty sighed at his behavior, aware that some things never changed. However, Ash knew that other things did change. If his younger self knew that this girl who gave him so much trouble at the beginning of his Pokémon journey would be the one to capture his heart, he would not have believed it. Yet, here was the stomach full of Butterfrees every time he caught a glimpse of her face. He spent days with her, doing something as simple as handing out fliers, and he could not have been more jubilant.