Hey Everybody! Not too much to say this week, but I wanted to thank everyone who commented on last chapter. These comments really motivate me and keep me coming back to this story, so please, even if you only have a few words to say, share them with me so that I can improve as a writer and remain dedicated to finishing this epic!

Also, as an aside, this is the seventh update of the calendar year. Not to brag, but this is the most I've updated since 2011, so I'm happy to announce that I am keeping my promise of updating more often. As mentioned last chapter, I have almost finished writing this story, so chapters will now be published weekly from now until it's conclusion. So come back every Sunday to read a new chapter, and please review after you're done!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokémon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this story are solely 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: 18

Misty: 19

"There's no reason for you to be sorry. I'm the idiot who lost in front of her boyfriend."

"Are you kidding me? I'm so proud of you! You made it to the semi-finals! You beat out thousands of other trainers just to compete for this spot!"

"They let gym leaders in automatically."

"Because they know you're better than the average trainer. Then you competed against 128 trainers just as skilled, and came in the top four! That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Right."

"Like I said, I'm the one who should be sorry. I was your coach for this. If anything, it's my fault you didn't make-Ow!"

"Don't say stupid stuff. Without you, there's no way I could've made it as far as I did. The only reason I got to fourth was because my Pokémon Champion boyfriend bailed me out." She spat the last words out like venom.

"Bailed you out? Mist, I just trained with you. You did all the work. You were the one waking us up at six every morning to get an early start - no matter how much I begged, remember?"

"Don't joke!"

"I'm sorry. I just hate seeing you cry."

She lifted her face from her arms. Her cheeks were glistening with tears, and her face was beet-red.

"Well then go away if you hate it so much! This is how I feel right now!"

"Misty…" He reached over, and despite her protest, pulled her in tight to his chest. "You know I'll never leave you alone."

She hiccupped. "I wish you-you would. You're so an-annoying."

"Tough. You're stuck with me, Waterflower."

He felt her relax in his hold, though her arms remained up. "You're so annoying and dumb and…"

"Good-looking?"

"No! Cocky and arrogant!"

"So I'm dumb?"

"Yeah!"

"And ugly?"

"Yeah!"

"Am I the worst person ever?"

"Yep."

He laughed, unable to contain himself any longer. To his delight he felt her shaking in his arms.

"I'm just the worst, huh?"

"Absolutely." She pulled away and looked up at him, tears still in the corner of her eyes despite her smile. "I love you. I'm sorry. I don't want you to go anywhere – you're the only person I ever want around. I just can't believe I lost like that."

"Trey's a great trainer. There's no shame in losing to him."

"It's not that. You and your mom and the Prof all came out to watch, and I lost in front of you."

"I already told you-"

"Yeah, I know you've lost before, but that was when you were a kid, Ash. You lost the Hoenn league when you were, what? Thirteen, fourteen? I'm almost twenty. I'm a full adult, and yet I'm still competing like you were as a child."

"Are you serious?"

"Hm?"

"I said, 'are you serious?' Misty, people compete in the Pokémon League throughout their lives. This isn't just a hobby! It's a career for tons of people. Yeah, most are younger, but plenty of people have followed their dreams well into their thirties and forties. There's nothing to be ashamed of, still competing at your age or mine!"

"I didn't mean - I mean, look." She took a breath. "I wasn't trying to say anything against battling. You're right, it's a career for a lot of people, but I don't want to be one of those people still climbing the rankings in my thirties and forties."

"You don't? But you're a gym leader?"

"Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean it's what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. I didn't tell you this, but before I left home this last time, I officially told my sisters I was done. Done with being a leader, and done with the gym in general."

"Did you guys have another fight?"

"No. The opposite. We had some really good talks and had fun hanging out, and it made me realize I didn't need the excuse of the gym anymore to enjoy their company or spend time with them. You see, over the course of our last two years together, I've learned some stuff about myself."

"Like?"

"Like that I don't want to be a Water Pokémon Master. At least, that's not my big dream anymore."

"When did this happen?"

"It's always kinda been there, Ash. Think about it, I've told you over and over how important college is to me. I told you I wanted to study marine biology. And as I've grown on our journey I've realized more and more that's the kind of work I can see myself doing."

"Being a marine biologist?"

She nodded. "I'm passionate about it, and, well, let's face it, the money's not exactly reliable in this lifestyle. Being a gym leader, your income is dependent on visitors, and being on the road, you only make what you can win against other trainers…or have a rich boyfriend."

Ash blushed.

"But you know how important it is for me to make my own way, and this is something that I want to do, that'll actually make a salary."

"Mist, money isn't everything. I traveled for years with barely any help from my mom, and I've always made it work."

"I know! And you're right, money isn't everything. In fact, if being a trainer was my dream, then no amount of money could tempt me away from it. But the truth is that being a trainer is hard, and my heart's just not in it anymore."

"So all those people you battled today, who said they were just gonna go back on the road?"

"I'm not one of them. Not anymore. For them, college was a journey to get more battles under their belts. For me, though, college is my destination. I want my degree. I want to become a marine biologist so I can learn even more about water Pokémon!"

"You still love Pokémon?"

"Of course I do, dummy!" She rolled her eyes and playfully punched his arm.

"I wanted to make sure. You're changing everything I know about you, so who knows?"

"Ash, why are you acting weird?"

"Because you've never mentioned this!"

"When we first saw each other again, at the party after you became champion, what did I tell you?"

"That you wanted to go with me and become a Water Pokémon Master."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah."

"No it wasn't. I said 'before I go to college.' College was in my plans from the beginning."

Ash was silent.

"I came to this competition today to get a scholarship so that I could go to college!"

"Yeah, I know."

"So why are you acting weird?"

"I mean – well, battling's how we got here, Mist."

"Here?"

"Yeah. Me, you, our relationship. You were my coach, and my second gym badge. Battling is why you agreed to go on this new journey with me in the first place. It's like the foundation of our relationship. What does it mean if you're tired of it? What does it mean for us?"

"Oh, Ash!" Now she pulled him into a tight hug. "Just because I'm done with battles doesn't mean I'm done with you! I love you!"

"I love you too, but your feelings could change, like they did with battling."

She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Ash, you're right. Pokémon battling is what brought us together, and it's been a big part of our relationship. But is it really the only reason we're together now? You and I are both changing and growing, and, well, we're gonna keep changing as we get older. Change is guaranteed to happen, but not to who we are."

"You lost me."

"My likes and dislikes will change, but who I am as a person – the person you love – won't change. And you'll change too. I remember an Ash Ketchum that used to only think about Pokémon. But now you spend your evenings studying finance."

"I don't really like that. Just gotta do it for my job."

"Still, two years ago I bet you never would have picked one of those textbooks up. And you always smile when you understand a new concept and are explaining it to me."

"I do feel smarter than I used to." The hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

"But who you are is still the same, you see? You're still that goofy, lovable kid in a baseball cap to me, and you always will be!"

"And you're still that hotheaded, cute girl in the tank top to me. By the way, you don't happen to still have that outfit, do-Ow!"

"Watch it. Do you see what I'm saying, though?"

Rubbing his arm, he smiled again. "Yeah, I get it."

"I still like to battle – the last six months should be proof of that. But it's not what I want the rest of my life to be about. And I'm sorry for how I spoke earlier. I didn't mean I'm too old to be a trainer."

"Yeah, I really didn't like the way you said that. Look at the other champions and gym leaders. They're way older than us!"

"That's not what I meant, and that's why I'm sorry. Obviously being older doesn't mean you can't do it. I just felt embarrassed out there, because here I am, the girlfriend of the next Pokémon Master, and yet I can't win a simple competition for a college team."

"Like I said, Mist. It was a tough competition, and there's no shame in losing it." She felt a strong hand grip her shoulder. "I'm proud of you for how you fought. And knowing that this isn't what you wanna do the rest of your life just makes me more impressed. You killed yourself over the last six months preparing for this tournament! Not many people would put in that kind of work on something they don't enjoy."

"You do."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No, no 'buts.' You're the reason I've been so motivated. I've watched you struggle, and I've watched you persevere, and that's how I've been able to do it too. I'll never stop loving you Ash, because you are who you are, and who you are pushes me to be a better version of myself."

She noticed his face turn red. "Can you quit being so nice? I don't know how to respond."

"Sorry, I guess I'm nicer when I'm depressed. It's all true, though."

"So you really want this college thing, huh?"

"With all my heart."

"Then I'll pay for you."

"Ash, no!"

"Why not? We've been dating for a long time now, why can't I just pay for it? It won't be awkward or anything. It's just like when I've bought you stuff in the past."

"No, this would be different. I wanted to pay my own way through college because it's my dream. I don't want to depend on you to achieve it."

"But Mist, that's how dreams work. We depend on each other to make them happen. I've used you to get me this far. If it hadn't been for you and Brock I probably would've quit training altogether after we were kidnapped!"

"It's different, Ash. I didn't mind you helping me train and prepare for the tournament, but, well…this is just different, okay?"

"No, not okay! How is this different? How?!"

She stamped her foot and turned to him. "Because I'm tired of feeling useless!"

"Useless?"

"Yeah! Useless! We don't talk about it much anymore, but throughout this journey I've felt more and more reliant on you. It started out innocently enough, with you paying for nice hotels. Then you bought me my car-"

"That was payback for your other car!"

"Yeah, we joke about that, but the truth is you bought me a beautiful new sports car to replace my old jalopy! So we went from nice hotels, to a new car, to you actually saving my life at the Rocket hideout when I was kidnapped! As time has gone on, I've felt like more and more of a deadweight than a coach."

"That's stupid. I already told you, I wouldn't even be a trainer if it wasn't for you. You were the reason I was able to keep going, and why I made it up Mount Silver!"

"That's sweet of you to say, but it doesn't change how I feel. I've been dependent on you a lot these last couple of years, and I need to get into college on my own, so I know that I can. Otherwise, the rest of my life I'll be wondering if I was good enough. I need an achievement that's truly my own."

Ash huffed. "Fine, if you don't want my money, then I guess I understand why. But you don't need to ever feel like a burden, Misty. It's not my money, or my stuff – it's ours. I'd never make you feel bad for using it because it belongs to you just as much as it does to me."

"I know, Ash." She reassuringly clasped his hands within hers. "I don't think you'd ever use that against me – you're not that kind of person. Like I said, that's why I love you so much. But this is something I need to do on my own."

"I respect that. But, well..."

"But what?"

"Well, how are you gonna do it now?"

Author's Notes: I don't think Misty's revelation should be much of a twist to my regular readers. Throughout this story she has talked about her excitement for college and studying marine biology. However, I feel like Ash, being who he is, would still be surprised by the fact she doesn't want to be a trainer anymore. After all, that's who he is and I'm sure it's hard for him to imagine someone falling out of love with the very art he's dedicated his life to. Even when he tried to quit battling, it was more for love of his Pokémon than because of his own desires.

Regardless, what did you think? Did you like how I wrote the dialogue between them, or did it feel unnatural? Do you feel like Misty's reveal was organic, or out of nowhere for her character arc? Also, how do you think she'll afford college now? Let me know!

Chapter 73 will be out next Sunday, same time! See you then!