Hey Everybody! I'm definitely a little later than usual with my chapter entry today. The internet at my house was still down up until a couple of hours ago, so I have not had time to write any of my reviewers like I usually do, or update by my Sunday deadline (the internet at the library where I updated last week was also out, since there was a construction incident causing widespread telephone/internet failures throughout the area). I hope y'all understand. The good news is that school let out this week for summer, and this Wednesday, tomorrow, I fly off to Houston for about a week, where I'll have a 24-hour gym (I'm just happy about that), and all-access wi-fi to catch up on a few things (including my obligations on this site). Anyway, I definitely hope y'all enjoy this next segment. There's more shipping, and the story's first (but definitely not last) action sequence. I'd also like to thank the reviewers (well, not all of them) for the last round of comments, and I hope that they continue to help me improve the story through their criticism and compliments. I received the most critical feedback from my last chapter, but like I've said in the past, I don't normally care if you liked it or not, just so long as you review it so I can realize what I need to improve upon and what I may need to change. So, REVIEW please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 16

Brock: 21

Misty: 17

Dawn: 13

Delia: 40

Oak: 55

Gary: 16

Inside the house, Brock was having a great time. He had met Mallory ten minutes ago, and she had yet to call him a name, slap him, or throw her soda in his face. Somehow, unlike other girls, she seemed to really be interested in him despite his corny pick-up lines and bad taste in conversational subjects (moments earlier he had asked which brand of toothpaste she liked the most). Yep, I finally found a girl who knows a good thing when she sees it, Brock thought to himself.

"So you're a gym leader, huh? That is so cool!" stated Mallory, appearing very excited the moment after Brock told her of his former-profession.

"Well, yeah. I am kind of. I mean I'm still a certified leader of the Pewter City Gym and all, but I really wanna be a Pokémon Breeder. Right now I'm working on getting certified through an online course while I travel with Ash."

"A breeder?" she inquired, with a quizzical look on her face. "What do they do exactly?"

More than happy to explain his future career to his future wife, Brock said, "Well, a breeder is just someone who raises Pokémon in a healthy environment. I'm learning different techniques for creating Pokémon food for the specific needs of different types, and I'm learning about certain herbal and pharmaceutical remedies for minor illnesses and wounds inflicted upon Pokémon."

"Wow! That sounds soooooo interesting," Mallory gushed. "So you're kind of like a Pokémon nurse then?"

"No!" Brock exclaimed. He really didn't like it when people mistook his career of choice for being a Nurse Joy. "A breeder doesn't specialize in healing Pokémon. We just learn how to deal with minor infirmities, but Pokémon nurses take care of the bigger stuff. We're more focused on the raising of Pokémon than the healing of them."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," replied Mallory. She saw him blushing and realized that he obviously took his job very seriously.

Not wanting to mess up the chemistry Brock felt between them, he simply shrugged it off. "Eh, it's no big deal. A lot of people make that mistake. So what do you do exactly Mal?"

When he asked the question, Brock immediately noticed a change in the beautiful girl's demeanor. Her big, blue eyes immediately turned toward the floor, and she started playing with her long, blond hair.

"Well, I uh, I mean that I'm a uh," she stammered, apparently too caught up in her ponytail to think of an answer to Brock's question. Finally, she looked him in the eye and quickly said, "I'm a Pokémon collector."

"A collector?" Brock asked, a little unsure of what that title entailed.

"Yeah! I collect rare and valuable Pokémon," she replied, having regained her composure.

"Well that's cool, but I thought you said you had an apartment and a Corvette. How does collecting Pokémon make a living for you?" as he asked this, he hoped he didn't sound too curious or sound like he didn't respect her profession. He just wanted to understand what she did better.

Once again losing her composure, she stammered and said, "Oh, I-I- find, uh, ways."

Brock could see she was very uncomfortable discussing her job with him, and for a moment he grew suspicious, but she then gave him a big, warm smile, and he forgot all his notions. Besides, he thought, what business is it of mine anyway? She's probably just embarrassed her career isn't as interesting as mine.

"So, uh, do you wanna show me around this big ol' house? You said you've been here plenty of times before, right?" she asked, very much wanting to end his interrogation about her line of work.

"Oh yeah!" Brock said, happy to do anything for her at this point. "I can show you the entire house. Where'd you like to start?"

"Could we start in Ash's room please? I've always wanted to see how a Regional champion lives."

"Okay, but let me warn you. It's not nearly as glamorous as I think you believe it to be. It looks more like a ten year old's room than a champion's." Brock didn't want her to be too disappointed when she saw the room filled with little kid Pokémon action figures and posters.

"Even so, I'd really like to see it." As she said this she lowered her voice, leaned in closer to Brock, and wrapped her arm around his.

"Uh, yeah. Of course! Here we go," and with that, Brock began to lead her up the crowded staircase towards Ash's bedroom. At the rate this is moving, I might even get a kiss goodnight, Brock thought with a smile as he led Mallory up the stairs.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Out on the porch, Misty and Ash were reminiscing a bit. They had been out there for an hour, but Misty had yet to tell Ash the news. In all of the nostalgia, they both forgot the reason they came out in the first place. They were still leaning upon the railing, with the high full moon beaming down and illuminating their faces. Misty had begun to perspire slightly on her forehead, and Ash was sweating all over. Although it was night, the temperature didn't seem to care, as it was at least ninety degrees outside. However, they barely noticed the sticky heat as they talked about comrades and adventures long gone.

"And remember when we were in the Orange Islands, and that weird gym leader wanted you to stay with him?" Ash asked, laughing from the joy that can only come from talking with an old friend.

"Hey!" Misty exclaimed, chuckling herself. "He wasn't some weird guy. He was very sweet, and sometimes I wonder why I didn't take him up on that offer."

"Probably since you realized he was gay," Ash answered, really just wanting to stir up controversy. He enjoyed watching Misty get frustrated with him…sometimes.

In a tone of disbelief, Misty replied, "He was not gay! How could you even think that Ketchum? Why would he ask me to live with him if he was gay?"

"Maybe he wanted you for a maid or something."

"A MAID???!!!" Misty was fuming now. Was it really so hard for Ash to believe that someone just enjoyed her company?

Shaking his head, Ash said, "Naw, you're right Mist. Anyone with any sense wouldn't ask someone with your cooking skills to be their maid." Then, looking up at the stars reflectively, he continued, "Of course there's a distinct possibility that he needed a janitor-"

Ash was interrupted mid-sentence with a loud "WHACK" when Misty slapped him hard in the back of the head.

"Ow! That hurt Mist!"

"Really? Oh I'm so sorry," Misty replied sarcastically.

"That's alright. You hit like a girl anyway," Ash smirked impishly as he said this, knowing no good could come from it.

"That's it!" Misty charged at Ash, and in the blink of an eye he had jumped over the railing of the porch and they had begun running around the backyard with Misty hot on Ash's heels.

"Ha, ha. You can't catch me Mist!" Ash mocked as he barely stayed ahead of the furious young woman.

"We'll see about that," and as she said this, she kicked off her heels and lunged through the air, tackling Ash to the ground. She then proceeded to give him the sternest punishment she could think of; she tickled him. Ever since they first met, one of the things Misty knew Ash hated was getting tickled, so for at least a full minute she tortured him in the middle of the backyard, all the while causing both her and Ash to laugh to the point where it hurt.

"P-p-please s-s-s-stop Misty-y-y!!!" Ash pleaded through the tears. He was laughing too hard, and was pretty sure that if she didn't quit soon, he was going to cough up his lung.

"Oh, okay fine, big baby," she chuckled as she climbed off of Ash and laid on her back next to him, gazing up at the stars. She knew that by now she had ruined her beautiful dress, and she felt very hot and sweaty from the experience. She felt her head, and realized her hair (which she had spent hours on) was also a mess, as it was strewn all over the earth beneath her.

Ash, for his part, was not doing much better as far as appearances went. He had already been hot, but now he felt like he was going to fall over from thirst if he didn't get some water to quench it soon. However, after what Misty had told him earlier, he wasn't as worried about her seeing him in this state, and as he lay there catching his breath from what had to be one of the most intense forms of torture known to man, he looked over at Misty, only to find her gazing back at him. He knew she didn't like how she looked now, but he thought she looked great like this. This was the Misty he remembered from his childhood. This was the Misty that had motivated him to do so good for so long. This was the Misty that he loved.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you my big news!" Misty broke him from his thoughts with her statement. She had begun to feel a little nervous with them staring at each other for that long, so she decided that now would be the perfect time to deliver her big news.

"Oh yeah, I forgot too," Ash admitted. He felt slightly embarrassed about that little staring contest they had been holding, and was glad to be talking again.

"Okay, well here it is. My sisters, as you know, have been modeling for about five years. Well, even though Lily and Violet are still in the biz, my oldest sister Daisy has quit."

"She has?" This was news to Ash. Personally, he had always considered Daisy the most beautiful of Misty's three sisters, and was surprised to hear of her departure from the life of glamour.

"Yep. Apparently since she turned thirty, jobs have become scarce, and she wants to leave with some dignity, instead of digging around for anyone who'll take her. So anyway, she rang me up a couple of weeks ago and told me that she was gonna leave the business and then gave me some great news! She told me that she wanted to take over the gym!"

Ash was surprised by this. He wasn't exactly sure why this was such great news. "Uh, Mist. No offense or anything, but isn't your sister a little, I dunno, bad at Pokémon battling?"

Smiling, Misty replied, "Oh, not anymore. Apparently her boyfriend's a gym leader over in the Hoenn region for some water gym, and she's been learning from him. When she got home last week we battled, and I gotta say she was a challenge."

"But you beat 'er?" Ash asked, smiling.

"Of course. Did you expect anything less from the world's greatest water Pokémon trainer?"

"No, I guess not."

Misty was a little shocked that Ash didn't take advantage of her last statement to make some smug remark about her battling skills, but she figured he was probably just tired.

However, Ash wasn't really tired, but instead thinking. "So Mist, that's great about your sister and all, but I was wondering why, specifically, it was such great news?"

Realizing she hadn't exactly explained herself, she blushed a little and answered him. "Oh yeah. Well, with my sister coming back to take over the gym, I'm gonna have a couple of free years before I have to worry about college or any of that. So I decided that I'm gonna try to realize my dream of becoming a water Pokémon master!"

"Wow Misty, really? I didn't know that was still your dream," Ash replied.

"It's always been my dream Ash. Why'd you think it changed?"

"I dunno. I guess that with you having been leader for so many years now, I just figured that must have been what you really wanted the whole time."

"Well no, of course not!" Misty replied insulted. She could tell by the look on his face that Ash was surprised by her change in tone, but she was upset by the idea that he thought she just forgot all of her dreams over the years, and decided to live a quiet, secluded life while he went off and pursued his hopes of being Champion. "Just because you had no responsibilities weighing you down, doesn't mean that you were more committed to fulfilling your dreams than I was."

Shaking his head in order to quickly diffuse the situation, Ash replied, "No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. I know you had responsibilities and all. I guess it's just that it's been so long since we talked like we used to, you know, about our ambitions and goals and stuff, that I really forgot what you wanted. Now that I think about it, I guess since we stopped talking, I kinda forgot what I wanted too."

Misty was thrown off a little by his last statement. "What do you mean you forgot what you wanted? Wasn't your dream to become a champion?"

"No it wasn't. Don't you remember when we were kids and I would always say that I wanted to be a Pokémon Master?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You used to talk about it all the time, now that I think about it," Misty said, rolling her eyes.

"That's right!" Ash exclaimed, excited. "And for some reason, after you left the group and I started hanging out with May and Max, that dream kind of just fell to the wayside. I used to wanna catch all the Pokémon out there. I wanted to be known as the Master, but after a while that dream just seemed too big, so I guess subconsciously I kind of threw it away and settled for being the Sinnoh Champion instead."

"Wow. It's funny, but now that you say it, it makes a lot of since," Misty told him as she propped her head up with her arm. "So what are you planning on doing now, Mr. Future-Master?"

"Well, I received a letter from Cynthia, you know, the old Champion, after I defeated her, and it provided me with the official Pokémon League Board's requirements for attaining Master status."

Her curiosity piqued, Misty asked, "Why haven't I ever heard of these rules for Master Rank?"

"Professor Oak told me that apparently a lot of people will try and 'help' (he said this using finger quotes) trainers trying to become masters if they know what's necessary to attain the rank. They do this so that they can have the Master, who's the leader of the PLB, do them special 'favors' (once again he said this using finger quotes) once they're in power."

"Wow! I didn't know this whole operation was so covert, or that the Master held so much power!" Misty said in shock. "So then I guess I can't be told the requirements either, huh?"

"Oh no, I can tell you. Oak said that I just can't let anyone outside of my close family and friends know."

"Really? So what are they?" Now Misty was excited to know.

"Well, first I had to become Champion. Now that I've done that, I have to defeat a trainer of equal or higher merit, which Professor Oak already decided to be Gary, and I have to catch all the Pokémon in the four regions, excluding legendaries."

As he finished listing the rules, Ash looked at Misty to see a shocked expression plastered across her face. "What????" she asked in disbelief. "Did you say all the Pokémon in the four regions?"

"Yep. Apparently they take that "Gotta catch 'em all" thing pretty seriously down there in the PLB," Ash replied jokingly.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Well, Gary and I have a battle scheduled for next week at his gym. By the way, thanks for telling me about his becoming a gym leader."

"Oh, well I couldn't tell you because he begged me not to. He said he had something special in mind when you got back to tell you about his new job. I guess this is what he was talking about."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash repeated. "Well anyway, so after I battle Gary, I plan on starting my journey here in Kanto and catching all the Pokémon from this region that I missed the first time. I'm also hoping to evolve some of my own Pokémon through a lot of training, so that will hopefully cut down on how many I need to catch, but not by much."

"Wow. Well I don't envy you right now," Misty said, laying back down and staring at the sky again. She couldn't imagine having to do all that. She was going to have a hard enough time catching and training all of the water Pokémon in the world. She couldn't imagine trying to captureall of them. As she thought this however, a thought popped into her head.

"Hey Ash!" she cried excitedly, propping herself back up on her elbow, facing the young man who was still staring at the sky.

Tilting his head over at her, he asked, "What?"

"I just had a great idea! You're trying to catch all the Pokémon in the world, and I'm trying to catch and train a bunch of water types from the different regions! Why don't we go on a journey together?" She practically screamed at him as she said this. "It would be just like old times. We'd stay up late talking, and we could improve each other's battle skills. Not to mention that it's a lot more fun travelling in a group rather than alone."

Ash suddenly propped himself up as well. "Hey, you might have something there, Mist. I mean, I think it'd be great if my last Pokémon journey was with the same people I started it with. I think we'd have a great time!"

"Yeah!" Misty agreed. However, she couldn't help but feel a little pang of resentment when she heard Ash bring up ending his journey with the "same people" as he started it with. It wasn't that she had anything against Brock. As a matter of fact, she considered him to be her second-to-best-friend, but when she thought of the idea moments ago, she imagined, though she didn't know why, it would just be her and Ash together. She decided that she needed to clarify this with Ash immediately.

At the same time, Ash was kicking himself mentally for mentioning Brock, though not specifically, during their chat. He too was not sure why, but he got the feeling that when Misty talked about them continuing their quest together, she was not including Brock in her plans. At the same time, he really liked Brock. After all, they had been together longer than he had been with anyone else, and if anyone deserved to go on this journey with him he thought it should definitely be Brock. Therefore, he didn't correct himself after he said it.

"Ash, I think I need to explain something real quick," Misty said after a moment of silence hung in the air between them. She decided she needed to tell him this now, before she could think of why she was saying it, or how he would think of her saying it.

"What is it Mist?" Ash asked curiously, though in the pit of his stomach he was pretty sure he knew what she was about to tell him.

"Well, when I said we, I really meant-"

BANG.

Having been startled half to death, Ash and Misty looked up to see a giant bird-like object break through Ash's window.

"Fearow!!!" it screeched as it hovered next to his room on the second floor. Ash and Misty watched as a person with long hair jumped onto the bird Pokémon, yelled "FLY" and soared off towards the distant mountains.

"Ash!" yelled Brock through the window pane. "She just took off with all your Pokémon!"

"What?!" screamed Ash, louder even than the Fearow. He realized that he had left his bag (with four of his Pokémon in it) in his room after he talked with Gary earlier that evening. Reaching for his side, he was very much relieved to feel just one last pokéball left. It was Charizard, whom he had kept by his side after he had taken the dragon-like Pokémon from his pack when he thought the house had been broken into earlier.

As he threw the red and white ball, he yelled, "Charizard, I choose you!"

In a brilliant flash of light, the orange beast stood before him, his tail burning brightly, waiting for his master's command.

"Charizard, we gotta fly!" As Ash said this, he jumped on Charizard's back. Right before he took off into the night sky, he looked down at Misty, who still seemed in shock (which was quite believable considering that less than a minute ago, they were lying on the ground discussing their future), and said, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Don't worry, and tell my mom what's goin' on." He then ascended into the sky at a rapid pace, and was soon being watched by all the party guests who had run into the backyard to see what was going on. In the distance, they could see the silhouettes of the two flying Pokémon battling in front of the large, harvest moon.

Author's Notes: I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Chapter six will start off from Ash's point of view, so you'll get a better look at what's going on up in the sky. Like I said above, I just got back internet, so I can't give any recommendations for stories this week. I'm sorry to last week's reviewers for that. Anyway, please remember to REVIEW!