Ok, I admittedly made a mistake with an upload, so this chapter has been rewritten. I hope I managed to recapture everything I did before, and if I didn't, I apologize. Well, here we go with Chapter 4.2.

Chapter 4

Normal POV

As dire as things seemed, Ash realized he actually felt a little better after speaking with Brock. But now a new thought was swirling in his mind, one that was slowly taking over his previous source of stress. When Brock came right out and said that Ash was in love with Misty, Ash actually started to consider the idea. Not only that, it made a lot of sense. But now that he knew the truth, Ash thought that the pain would never go away until he saw Misty again.

As for Brock, the silence was stifling for the breeder, not even Pikachu was making so much as a squeak. So Brock tried to lighten the atmosphere a little with some friendly conversation. Maybe even something about Misty. Maybe he could see if Ash really understood what he had said to him.

"So, what did Misty say the last time you talked to her?"

"Well, that was a few months ago...she said that she was starting to train Daisy in battling. Misty was getting tired of handling the entire workload by herself, and her sisters are really rusty after not taking things seriously for so long."

"That's understandable." Brock nodded. "With a gym as popular as Misty's, it'd be nice to get some help. So how was that going?"

"Well, I asked her that and she said that Daisy might actually be enjo-" Ash stopped in his tracks, and his eyes widened as a huge grin spread across his face. "Brock, that's it!"

The breeder was caught off guard by Ash's sudden outburst as he jumped back a little. "What?! What's it?"

"I've got a great idea, Brock! Where's the nearest Pokémon Center?!"

"It's a mile or two north from here...but we can't stay there for the night, Ash! We already set up camp!"

"Don't worry, Brock; the only one going is me." Ash handed the two small twigs he had managed to find to Brock. "Go ahead and head back to camp; I'll be back as soon as I can!" With that, Ash took off down the road, leaving the utterly bewildered breeder to try and figure out what had just happened.

Brock's POV

I watched Ash run down the road with Pikachu hanging on for dear life, still trying to process what had just happened. "Okay, let me think, what could've brought that on?" I replayed the last few minutes in my head to try and figure out why Ash took off so suddenly. Maybe him missing Misty had finally caused him to snap?

"Well, I asked her that and she said that Daisy might actually be enjo-Brock, that's it!"

That was where it started. Ash mentioned Misty and Daisy training with each other, but what was the "it" he mentioned?

"I've got a great idea Brock, where's the nearest Pokémon Center?"

"An idea huh? That'd be a step up for Ash. Now the big question is...what is the idea?" As I continued to walk back to camp, holding the two twigs that Ash had oh-so-graciously handed to me before he took off, I pondered what Ash's huge revelation could've been. "Maybe he's gonna go call Misty? Nah, that's too sensible for Ash. Well whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be interesting."

I decided to give up on trying to figure out the complex and yet not so complex mind of Ash Ketchum. It just took too much brain power to unravel the mysteries of his brain. The only ones who could ever read him that easily were Misty and his own mother. And so I finally reached the campsite where Dawn was still waiting after I got a little more firewood, and it was obvious she was still very concerned.

"Where've you been?!" Dawn asked with her hands on her hips. "I was getting worried."

I shrugged. "I couldn't find any berries out there."

"You know that's not what I mean." Dawn scowled. "Where's Ash? Why isn't he with you? I thought you were going to talk to him!"

"Uh..." I was hesitant to explain. Ash had quite clearly explained that he did not want Dawn to know how he felt about Misty. And I could understand why. Dawn did have a tendency to meddle in things that were none of her business. "Well, I did talk to him. I think he's doing a little better. But he went to go run an errand. He should be back in no time."

"Well I certainly hope so. Ash is scary when he's angry, what was wrong with him anyway?"

I gulped. There weren't a whole lot of excuses readily available. "I think he's just going through some personal stuff right now. He should be fine after a few days."

The skeptical look on Dawn's face told me that this conversation was far from over. "That's not an answer, Brock. I'd like some details."

"I'm sorry, it's not for me to say."

"Well fine." Dawn huffed as she sat on a log and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll just pry it out of him when he gets back, and he better not take too long because I'm starving!"

"Hurry up Ash! She may not compare to Misty, but an angry Dawn can be pretty scary too!"

Ash's POV

An incredible idea had popped into my brain, I was proud of myself for having it. I ran as fast as I could with Pikachu clinging desperately to my shoulder, trying not to fall off as I continued to speed towards the Center. "Pikapi! Pika pika chu?!" (Ash, where are we going?!) Pikachu squealed, his eyes squeezed shut to keep out the wind blowing in his eyes.

"To the Pokémon Center, Pikachu! We've gotta call an old friend!"

"Pikachupi?" (Misty?)

I chuckled at that, it made sense that Pikachu would think that was my big idea, and it did involve Misty, but not directly, at least not yet. "Nope, we're not calling Misty; we're calling an 'old' friend." I snickered. Pikachu gave an exasperated groan as he understood my pun.

We finally reached the Center, and I burst in and looked at the clock, and saw that it was only 8:30 P.M. "Perfect, it's not too late!" I ran to the videophones and quickly dialed a number. I was going so fast that I figured I had to redial the number over four times before I actually got it right.

Normal POV

Ring ring ring, ring ring ring, phone call, phone call

"Now who could it be at this time at night?"

The phone was answered, and Ash soon appeared on the screen. "Hi Professor Oak!" he said cheerfully.

"Oh, hello, Ash!" Prof. Oak smiled. "To what do I owe the honor?" The older man listened intently to Ash's story, though he could sense throughout the explanation that certain details were being left out. Nevertheless, Ash's request was reasonable, so he stood up and gave the boy a smile. "I see, hold on just a moment, Ash, I'll make the call."

Prof. Oak walked off the screen, leaving Ash and Pikachu waiting in anticipation. "Guess we'll know in a minute, eh, Pikachu?" Ash petted the head of his Pokémon partner, who responded with an affectionate squeak. "I hope Prof. Oak couldn't tell I didn't tell him the whole story…I dunno, is it weird I didn't want him to know that Misty's the reason I need his help?"

Pikachu just shrugged at his master. "Pika chu." (Beats me.)

After a few minutes, the Professor came back onto the screen, and sat himself down with a smile on his face. "You're in luck, Ash, he should be at your location tomorrow morning."

Ash punched the air with excitement. "Thanks a lot, Professor, I really appreciate it!"

Just then, Ash's Muk came onto the screen and smothered the Professor. "I think Muk appreciates you for calling!" Prof. Oak said in slight distress.

"Ha ha! Hi, Muk!" Muk waved his globby hand at his master, while the Professor tried to get out from underneath it. "Okay, Professor, thanks for everything, talk to you later!" And with that, Ash hung up the videophone and got up to look at the clock. "Hmm, 8:45, well, I guess that's not so bad." Seeing that he had accomplished his goal sooner than expected, Ash decided to heal his team, seeing as Buizel in particular had taken a beating earlier. "Hey, Nurse Joy, how about a recharge?"

"No problem young man," the nurse took Ash's Pokéballs and Pikachu. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Now alone in the lobby as he waited for Nurse Joy to return with his Pokémon, Ash looked up at the ceiling as his imagination conjured up an image of a certain redheaded Gym Leader. "I hope I'll see you soon, Misty."

Dawn was pacing back and forth, her temper building as she'd been forced to wait for dinner because Ash hadn't done his part to contribute to the meal. Sure, Ash was clearly dealing with something, and she understood that, but that had never stopped him from helping before.

Maybe it was low blood sugar or some other factor, but the blue-haired coordinator was reaching a point where even she knew she was becoming irrational, as she flexed her hands into fists and watched as Brock only just now was getting finished cooking. "Where the heck is he?! I swear I'm gonna have to have a long talk with him when he gets back!"

"You're a little late Dawn; I already had one of those with him." Brock thought. "Relax, he'll be here soon, I know it." The breeder was trying to sound calm, but he definitely didn't want Dawn to get any angrier, she might start using him as a target to practice contest moves on. Just then, Ash was seen coming up the road, and Brock gave a sigh of relief.

However, Dawn was not satisfied with Ash just coming back; she wanted to get her two cents in, and maybe another dollar's worth of words. "Where have you been?!" Dawn screamed in the stunned trainer's face. "We haven't gotten to eat dinner yet thanks to you!"

Ash had to dodge the coordinator's hands as they were getting uncomfortably close to his face, and he put up his own hands in a placatory gesture. "Sorry, but it was important."

"More important than dinner?! Ash, you've never missed a meal before, for any reason! What could possibly be so important that you miss out on food?!"

"I uh...had to..." Ash stammered as he struggled for an excuse. "Take Buizel to the nearby Pokémon Center!"

"Hmm, not a bad answer." Brock thought with a subtle approving nod.

"After all," Ash added cockily. "A trainer like me should always have his Pokémon in tip-top shape!"

"D'oh, so close. You shoulda just left it at that."

"Well, whatever," Dawn huffed. "At least you're back so we can eat."

Ash tilted his head. "Why'd you guys wait for me anyway?"

"We weren't waiting," Dawn scowled and gave her mentor a side-eye look. "Since you bailed on getting the firewood, Brock had to do it for you, so he's only just finishing up now."

"Oh," Ash rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that guys."

"Don't worry about it, Ash," Brock waved a hand dismissively. "I managed to find enough wood that I could heat up some leftover rice balls."

"I can't believe you're letting him off the hook." Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and puffed out her cheeks in anger. "I get it, you're going through something, and we're both worried about you. If I weren't so gosh darn hungry, I probably wouldn't be so angry! I'm hangry!"

"Sorry, Dawn." Ash chuckled in embarrassment. "Well, now that I'm here, let's eat."

As soon as they sat down to enjoy dinner, Dawn's rage was quelled and they were able to fall back into their normal routine. Ash was even able to crack some jokes and laugh for the first time in days.

Although when it came time to clean up, Dawn stepped in and insisted that Ash be the one to do it, since he'd shirked off his other responsibilities and left her and Brock to do everything.

Given the circumstances, Ash had no trouble complying.

Ash's POV

We were just getting ready for bed, and I began to set out my sleeping bag, when all of a sudden, Misty popped into my head again. But for some reason, I didn't feel as much pain as I had before. "I sure hope my plan works, I want my Misty back..." I did a double take at that. "Did I just call her 'my' Misty?" I couldn't help but smile a little. "Wow, I must love her more than I thought..." I did another double take. "'Love?' Wow, Brock, you sure did a number on me." I knew now that the feelings I had for Misty were pure and genuine, but I hadn't yet grown accustomed to thinking of her like that.

But one thing was for sure, I liked it.

As I crawled into my sleeping bag, Pikachu walked up and curled himself next to my head for a good night's sleep. I petted his head and just waited for morning to come, thinking about Misty the whole night through.

Normal POV

The next morning, Ash, Dawn, and Brock were once again on their way to Solaceon Town. But after a short while of traveling, the trio looked up into the sky as they heard a faint roar in the distance. "That's gotta be him!" Ash thought excitedly.

In the sky, they saw a small orange figure, which was slowly growing larger as it approached. Once it got close enough, Brock's eyes widened in shock at the sight of what he was seeing. "Whoa, check that out, Ash, it's a Charizard!"

Ash grinned. "That's not just any Charizard, Brocko."

Brock raised an eyebrow at that as he looked at his younger friend. Then he turned his head back towards the sky, and that was when his mind made the connection. "It's Ash's Charizard!"

"Charizard! Down here!" Ash waved his arms to get the dragon's attention, and moments later, Charizard swooped down to where they were and landed, causing the ground around them to rumble a little bit, as he announced his presence with his signature roar while spewing a Flamethrower.

"Aaah!" Dawn shrieked and hid behind the breeder's back as if he could hide her from the large fire/flying-type, and she pulled out her pink Pokédex shakily in order to scan the Pokémon.

Charizard, the Flame Pokémon, and the evolved form of Charmeleon. Charizard's powerful flame can melt absolutely anything.

"Hey buddy, how ya been?" Ash patted his powerful Pokémon's side, and Charizard shrugged dismissively with a low grunt. "Oh…okay then, not great?"

"How are you and Charla holding up?" Brock quickly regretted asking the question when Charizard looked away and growled angrily. "Oh…I see."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Charizard," Ash patted the dragon's side again. "Remember you still have friends on your side, we'll always back you up whenever you need it." After a moment, Charizard grunted with a small smirk on his face, and motioned for Ash to hop onto his back. Ash did just that, positioning himself securely onto the dragon's back.

After seeing that, Brock had managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and he smiled and gave Ash a thumbs-up. "Good luck, Ash."

Ash looked down and stared straight at Brock. "Thanks, Brock…for everything." he replied. "I'll see you guys later, let's go Charizard!" Charizard unleashed a mighty roar, and took off into the skies, leaving Brock and a very confused Dawn behind.

Dawn's POV

Okay, had I missed something? First Ash goes into a depression, and then he starts hearing somebody I don't know about, he takes off to the Pokémon Center without telling us and leaves us waiting for like an hour, comes back happy, and now a giant dragon shows up out of nowhere and takes him away. "What was that all about?!"

Brock took a quick glance at me. "Ash has an errand to run, he'll be back in a couple of days."

"Another errand?! A couple of days?! Where the heck is he going?!"

Brock apparently completely ignored my question and just started walking ahead of me. "We should probably get to Solaceon Town."

I was not about to let it go that easily. "Tell me where he's going, Brock."

"Look, he'll be back, just leave it at that."

"No way! I wanna know what's going on!" I started running to try and tackle the breeder, and in turn Brock took off running as well. "I'm gonna get you, Brock! I hate secrets being kept from me! I'll find out what's going on if it's the last thing I do!"

Ash's POV

Thanks to Charizard, my plan was in motion. "Think you can make it all the way to Cerulean City, Charizard?" Charizard nodded and grunted. Thanks to that training in the Charicific Valley, Charizard was a mighty powerhouse that I could count on whenever I needed him, and this flight to Cerulean was more important than any battle I had ever had, at least in my mind it was.

"Pika pi pi chu pika pi Pikachupi." (So we are going to see Misty.)

I didn't bother to respond. Why repeat what Pikachu already knew? He knew how I felt about Misty, and he knew where we were going. "The plan's going great so far."

"Pi pika pika pi chu pika chu." (I'm still not sure what the plan is though.)

"Heh heh, you'll find out soon enough. But I will tell you this, if it works, it'll make everybody happier." I blushed a little bit as my mind added an extra thought. "Especially me."

"Pika pika chu." (If you say so.) Pikachu shrugged.

With Pikachu in my arms and Charizard carrying me there, I would soon be at my target location, where Misty Waterflower would hopefully be waiting for me. "Get ready, Misty, here I come!"