Hey Everybody! Yeah, I know, I suck. I really tried to do better with updating, but life just kept getting in the way.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter anyway, despite its tardiness.

I also wanted to let all of you know that I have a new YT channel where I play through a copy of Pokémon Green that I bought in Japan. I plan on streaming, but the first vid on the channel was recorded since I was figuring out all the tech. So, if you want to listen to the calming, deep timbre tones of my magnificent voice, go check out "Chiqui's Boy" when you have a chance. I'd love to chat with you guys over there!

This chapter is dedicated to Waterflower moon. Thank you for messaging me and motivating me to get back on track with this story!

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

"Is my daughter up yet?"

"Ma, please don't call her that."

"Why not? I've always wanted a daughter and now I'll finally have one!"

"You always wanted a daughter?"

"Oh! No, honey. I didn't mean anything against you! Of course I always wanted a son, too! It's just . . . well, you're hard to understand sometimes. I think a girl would be easier."

"Gee, thanks. I feel better now."

"Ash Ketchum! You know what I meant!"

Ash hid a grin as he turned to leave the hotel room. "Sure thing. I'll be sure to tell your new favorite child to come say bye before we head out."

The night before had been a hectic one. Delia surprised even Ash with her enthusiasm when he shared the news. Misty had been on the phone with her sisters, but Delia burst into their room and started smothering his poor fiancé with hugs and wedding plans mid-conversation. With her sisters already on the line, the room became filled with screams of delight and sighs of adoration at the ring. No one got to bed until well after midnight.

"Are you bothering your poor mom again?" Misty asked as he entered their room.

"How'd you know?"

"The walls here are too thin. I could hear Professor Oak clicking away on his laptop all night last night."

"Yeah, that book is gonna be longer than Moby Dick by the time he finishes it at this rate."

"So are you all packed?"

"Yeah, I finished before you woke up."

"Wow, I'm impressed!"

He stuck his tongue out. "Well, now that I have a fiancé I figured I should start acting more responsibly."

"Yeah right."

"So how's the ring feel? Still a little big?"

"A little, but I just can't bring myself to think about getting it resized."

"I think you'll have to eventually. I'd have a heart attack if you lost it."

"Aww. That's sweet it means so much to you."

"Yeah, it cost a fortune!"

Misty closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Normally I'd hit you for that . . . but this one time I'll let it go since you just proposed."

"Understood. Sorry."

Zipping her suitcase, Misty looked back up. "We should go meet up with everyone before heading out."

"Yeah. I heard the Professor's door close a minute ago. He's probably with my mom."

Stepping out, they found Professor Oak standing outside their door with his baggage.

"Ah! This is fortuitous! I was just about to knock!"

"Let's all go to Ma's room."

As they walked in Delia dropped the blouse she was folding and ran to Misty. "There she is! I can't believe we're going to be family!"

Ash rolled his eyes as the women jumped up and down and started talking in hurried tones. "Guys, we just did this last night. Can we not?"

"Ash Ketchum!" His mom turned and gave him a stern poke in the chest. "You will not take away this moment from me! After Jay passed I thought I missed my chance to ever have a daughter. If you don't like it, you can go wait outside."

"Don't worry about him Mrs. Ketchum - "

"Mom!" Delia semi-scolded.

"Oh! Right! That's gonna take some getting used to, sorry."

Delia's features softened. "Oh, no. I'm sorry. I'm probably getting too caught up in all this. It just feels like a dream to finally see this happening."

"You thought we were gonna wind up married?" Ash asked incredulously. "For how long?"

"Well, I knew from the start – when you first met - that you two had a crush on each other," she explained, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "But I'll admit after you parted ways I wondered if that was the end. However, when you two saw each other at that party after you won the Sinnoh Championship, I could tell you'd wind up together."

"You saw us?"

"I'm your mother. I see everything." Ash felt a shiver run up his spine. "You two were so cute – all nervous and awkward. I could tell those feelings from your childhood had grown with you."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Misty sat down next to Delia and gave her a hug. "And of course I want to call you 'mom.' I told you that last night. The truth is, ever since my own mom passed, I've had a hole in my heart. No one can ever completely fill that, but you've come closer than anyone else I've ever known, Mrs. – I mean, Mom."

Delia hugged her back.

"This truly is a wonderful day," Professor Oak chimed in after a moment. "However, at the risk of ruining it, Misty have you had an opportunity to discuss with Ash the offer I made you a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yes, I have." Misty's tone turned almost somber. "Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. We've had a lot to think about. But, as Ash proved yesterday, our relationship is strong enough for us to pursue our dreams without losing each other, so . . . I'm in!"

The kindly old man grinned widely. "That's wonderful news! So you will be able to start with me in the fall?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay. We will begin on the first of September, so plan accordingly. I suggest you reach out to Tracey and get up to speed on what it's like working and studying under me. I will give fair warning: it won't be easy."

"I wouldn't have accepted if I thought it would be." She gave the professor a confident smirk as she held out her hand. "I look forward to it!"

The corners of his old eyes crinkled as he shook her hand. "That's the spirit! I have no doubt we'll both benefit. And Delia, I'm sure, will be happy to have you nearby."

"Of course I will! In fact, I know the professor offered to give you room and board like he did with Tracey, but if you'd prefer you can stay with me? The house is only a short walk from the lab, and – no offense Professor – the food is much better."

Oak laughed graciously. "I suppose you're right. Most of my time is spent feeding Pokémon, so I don't get to practice much with preparing human food. Still, my meals will leave you healthy with a shiny coat!"

Misty blushed slightly. "Wow, thank you! I-I didn't expect that, but I think it would be nice. I was telling Ash how your house has started feeling more and more like my home over these last two years - "

"It feels like home when you're there!"

"It'd be nice to have that comfort at the end of the day."

"Then it's settled!" Oak put an arm around Ash. "And I'm sure the two of us will drop by plenty to enjoy your cooking too, Delia. You know, this reminds me of a poem: 'Togetherness is, Eating side-by-side as one, In the warmth of home.'"

"Not bad, Professor," Ash complimented.

"Well if you liked that, I have several others - "

"We should probably start heading for the airport, Professor," Delia cheerily reminded.

As they rode the shuttle to the airport, Ash began fidgeting with his Pokédex. As he scrolled through the seemingly endless list of names, he couldn't help the swell of pride he felt in his chest.

"Pretty amazing how far you've come, huh?" Misty rested her head on his shoulder, looking through the list with him.

"Yeah, when I won the championship, I had less than a hundred Pokémon registered. Hard to believe we're at the end of it all."

"Of course, the greatest catch of all is on your shoulder, right?"

"Yep." He gave her a warm smile. "Pikachu is still my best buddy," he noted, abruptly looking to his other shoulder and patting the mouse on his head.

"Oh, ha, ha. You're hilarious. I thought that since we got engaged you'd maybe start to be more romantic."

"Unfortunately, I don't think you can expect much change," Delia sighed from the seat behind. "Jay was the same way with me; always picking and making inappropriate jokes."

"Must be in the genes."

Ash smiled, "But so are my good looks. So you have to take the good with the bad."

The two women groaned.

"So what are you two doing once you get back to Sinnoh?"

"Well, we fly in to Sunyshore," Misty explained. "That's where we left my car when we flew to Kanto last month. After that, it's a day's drive north to the Pokémon League."

"What are you doing there?" Delia asked.

"Ma! Training!" Ash looked hurt. "You know I have the Master coming up."

"Of course I know that, silly. I meant, is it going to happen soon?"

Ash gently smacked his forehead. "I'm sorry. I forgot I didn't tell you and the professor. Yes, Red and I have settled on a date: the first of August."

Delia's eyes went wide. "That's only two months away, Dear!"

"I know. It's exciting!"

"But, are you sure you'll be ready by then?"

The hurt expression returned. "Are you really doubting me?"

"No, no, no! I'm really not, Sweetheart. It's just . . . ." Delia paused, collecting her thoughts. "I know Red. From back when he and your father worked together."

"Jay used to tell me that there was no one in the world like him. You may not remember, but your father was always a very confident man." She smiled. "You two have that in common as well."

"So it was strange listening to him talk so highly of Red. One night he said he didn't think anyone could take him on."

"Okay? So you don't think I can?" Ash felt a sting of embarrassment as he asked the question. He knew it shouldn't matter so much what his mom thought, but it did.

"Dear, of course I do," she snapped back, almost sounding angry. "Do you really think I would have let you go on all these years if I thought you couldn't be the best? What kind of mother would that make me if I had done that?"

Her features and voice softened a bit. "It's just that I want to make sure you're ready. I know you can beat Red with enough preparation. I don't want you to rush. Time is on your side."

Misty squeezed his hand. "You know, I was thinking the same thing when you told me the date last night." She held up the ring. "Obviously with this I got distracted, but do you really need to do this in August? Or would it be smarter to be patient?"

"Guys, I appreciate the concern," Ash slowly smiled. "I get that you're worried about me. To be honest I'm grateful I have people who care so much, and I'm sorry for getting angry a minute ago. It's just . . . well, I care what you – all of you – think of me, and it hurt to think you didn't believe in me after all this time."

The smile faded. "But this date wasn't chosen at random. Ma, you were the one who wanted me to be done before college started, remember?"

"I do. I remember saying that right after you won the Sinnoh Championship. But now that we're here it-well, it's just a little scary."

"How do you think I feel?" he chuckled solemnly.

"I know. I know it sounds silly, but you're my little boy, and you winning this is just as important to me as it is to you and Misty. I don't want you to do this now if you don't feel ready. Don't let me pressure you into making the wrong move." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Your brain and instincts have gotten you this far; trust them."

"Thank you. But that's exactly what I'm doing. Yeah, you were the one who gave me that deadline at the start, but everything I've done the last two years has been because of that deadline. I've strategized and trained around it."

He turned to Misty. "And I know you think more training is always a good thing, but Mist, you've been with me this whole time. The last eight months, since Team Rocket ended, what have we done every single day?"

She smiled. "Trained."

"Trained. We got up every morning, caught a new Pokémon, then trained all afternoon into the evening."

"But a lot of those Pokémon we worked with aren't on your final team."

"No, but all the ones on my team were trained during that period. On top of that, it's been almost four weeks since I cut my potential team down to 16 Pokémon who I've been training with exclusively. I've had my final team figured out for two weeks and have only been working with them."

"I know all this," Misty sighed. "But what's the rush?"

"Here's the thing, guys. I could spend the rest of my life preparing for this battle. Part of me really wants to give in – to take your advice and just put this battle off . . . maybe forever." He looked down for a moment, a serious look on his face. "You guys forget; I've already faced off against Red once before. I got a taste of that power, Ma. Dad wasn't kidding around that Red may be the best there's ever been."

Then he looked up and smiled again.

"Which is why I have to battle him soon. If I beat him, then I'll finally have achieved my goal – not just of being a Pokémon Master, but of being the very best." His voice grew more excited. "It's scary thinking about facing him, but what makes it scary is also what makes it so exciting. This is why I got into Pokémon in the first place: to see what I'm made of. Me, my Pokémon, my friends, my family. We've all worked so hard to get to this point – I'm not backing down now!"

He squeezed Misty's hand hard. "I don't want to wait any longer to find out what I'm made of. That's the rush."

Misty felt as if she'd been thunderstruck by Pikachu. Her heart was racing, and she realized she was falling in love all over again with the brunette boy sitting next to her. That attitude, the never-ending desire to push himself to be better, was what had first lit her pre-adolescent crush all those years before. And it apparently still had a hold on her to this day.

"I know you can do it," she said confidently, gripping his hand tightly.

"So do I," Delia affirmed. "Like I said, you just need to trust your instincts. If this is what they're telling you to do, I have no doubt it's the right move."

"So Ash," Oak interjected after having been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the ride, "what is your training strategy for this upcoming match?"

"Oh, I know this," Misty interjected, still excited from Ash's speech. "Ash has the Sinnoh Elite Four waiting for him. He asked them to clear their schedules so he can practice. We also have been reaching out to old friends and connections. We're going to fly them all to Ash over the next two months so he can prepare against as many trainers as possible."

"Wow! You sound quite prepared, Ash. I'm sure your organization and foresight will serve you well."

"Thanks, Professor. There's just one problem."

"Huh?"

Ash pointed back to his pokédex and blushed. "I forgot to catch the last Pokémon I needed to fill this out."

"What?!"

Author's Notes: Alright, which Pokémon do you think Ash forgot? Regardless, looks like we're gonna have one last zany "catch 'em all" chapter before the end game.

I know you've all developed trust issues with me by this point, but I actually do have chapter 81 written already, so with any luck I'll have it uploaded next Sunday for you guys. Also, like I mentioned above, I'd love to chat with y'all over on my YT channel when I'm streaming, so feel free to drop by!

Anyway, that's all for this week. REVIEW PLEASE, and have a good week!