Today just so happens to be the anniversary of this series! So, to celebrate, another story for you all!
I know it's April now, so a story about snow seems out of place, but we were having snow storms up until about 2 weeks ago and are only now starting to get spring weather, so I figure this isn't too odd! The winter here was rough, so I consider this my formal farewell to it.
Elizabeth: 5 years old
Snow Day
The howling wind outside her window was enough to wake Elizabeth Ketchum from her sleep. She groggily opened her eyes, groaning quietly as she turned her head towards the window. There was barely any sunlight shining behind the closed blinds, but Elizabeth instinctually knew it was morning. Rubbing one of her eyes, Elizabeth slowly rose from the bed and swung her legs over the side, sliding onto the floor and shuffling towards the window.
As soon as the little girl pulled back the blinds, she let out a gasp.
The world outside of her bedroom was covered in pure white snow, a flurry of flakes falling from the sky as though she were living inside of a snow globe. The grass, the street, the cars, the trees and bushes…everything was beneath blankets of snow.
Squealing, Elizabeth jumped away from the window and back towards her bed, grabbing her favorite stuffed Pokémon with both hands.
"Teddi, it's snowing!" She eagerly whispered to the bear. "You know what that means?"
The toy Teddiursa silently stared back at her, and Elizabeth simply giggled in response.
"We can build a snowman, and make snow angels, and have a snowball fight!" She continued. Her excitement dwindled, however, when she was hit with a realization. "Uh oh…school."
She started to pout, twisting her mouth as she glanced back up at the window. "I like school, but I don't wanna go today! I wanna play in the snow!"
Teddi slumped over in her hands. Turning her attention back onto the bear, Elizabeth wondered aloud, "Maybe Mommy and Daddy will let me stay home. Let's go ask!"
The little girl ran out of her bedroom, with her dependable stuffed partner still in her grasp. She made a beeline down to the end of the hall, where her parents' room was situated. They were both still fast asleep in bed, but Elizabeth intended on changing that right away. Taking a small step back, Elizabeth burst into a running leap, landing squarely on the foot of her parents' bed. She was so small and light, however, that it didn't do much of anything to stir her parents.
Sighing, Elizabeth crawled up towards them, switching her gaze as she tried to decide which one she wanted to wake up first. Ultimately, she decided on her father, because he tended to be less annoyed when he got woken up.
With that completed, Elizabeth clambered up on her father, getting in his face as she pulled up one of his eyelids with her small fingers.
"Daddy, guess what!" She squealed.
Ash gasped and jumped up, Elizabeth rolling off of him as she giggled. Misty groaned and pushed herself up, rubbing her eyes as she tried to fully wake herself up.
"What's going on?" She muttered.
Ash sighed and glanced down at his young daughter. "Elizabeth."
The little girl popped back up, beaming at her father. "Guess what, Daddy!"
"What, Lizzie?" Ash breathed, throwing himself back down and staring up at the ceiling.
"It's snowing!" Elizabeth announced excitedly.
"It is?" He asked through a yawn.
"Uh huh," Elizabeth chirped, nodding her head. "I wanna play in it! Can I stay home from school to play in the snow?"
Ash hummed thoughtfully as he turned his head to the side to look at Elizabeth once again. "I think you should ask Mommy that."
"Seriously?" Misty breathed tiredly.
"You know my answer would always be yes," Ash reasoned with her. "You're more rational than I am."
"Hmm," Misty hummed, stretching her arms above her head before turning towards her nightstand to retrieve her phone. "Well, looks like I don't need to decide."
"Why?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The school called me," Misty replied. "They're closed today because of the snow."
Ash shot up and gasped, beaming at his young daughter. "Lizzie, isn't that so cool? You have a snow day!"
Elizabeth furrowed her brow. "What's that?"
"You've never heard of a snow day before?" Ash asked, obviously surprised.
"She's only in kindergarten, Ash," Misty giggled. "This is the first one she's ever had!"
"I know, but they always have snow days on TV," Ash countered. "Haven't you ever seen a snow day on one of your shows, Lizzie?"
"No," Elizabeth squeaked.
"Oh," Ash murmured. "Well…a snow day is when the weather is too bad outside, so the school closes to keep everyone safe. But it also means you get to stay home and do whatever you want!"
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Like play in the snow?"
"Sure!" Ash chuckled.
"Yay!" Elizabeth cheered. "I wanna play in the snow with Mommy and Daddy!"
All of Elizabeth's excited yelping woke up Pikachu, who'd been sleeping on his trainer's pillow. The mouse yawned and stretched himself out, gazing up blearily at the little girl. "Pi-kachu?"
"Oh, and Pikachu!" Elizabeth giggled. "Pikachu plays too!"
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu squealed, wiggling his ears before jumping into the young girl's arms.
"Lizzie, we'd love to play in the snow with you!" Ash laughed. "But Mommy and I might still have to go to work. Just because your school closed for the day doesn't mean where we work will."
Elizabeth frowned, but her face softened once her mother said, "hold on just a second."
The little girl spun around, watching as Misty tapped on her phone screen a few times before holding it up to her ear. After a few beats of silence, a smile spread across Misty's face as she greeted, "good morning, Nurse Joy! How are you?"
...
"I'm fine, thanks! What's going on at the Pokémon Center?"
…
"Wow, really?"
…
"And have you heard anything about the roads?"
…
"Alright. Thanks for letting me know! You're the best!"
…
"Right. Talk to you later!"
She ended the call and beamed at her husband, who seemed confused.
"Why'd you call Nurse Joy?" Ash asked.
"I wanted to check on the status of the Pokémon Center, because after a big storm like this, it gives me a better idea of what to do with the gym," Misty explained.
"Oh, I get it," Ash breathed. "So what did she say?"
"The center is completely booked with trainers," Misty replied. "They all stayed there overnight to keep safe from the storm, and most are still sleeping in. But Nurse Joy also told me that the streets and the sidewalks are a complete mess, and it's probably going to take most of the day for the city to clean it all up. So those trainers probably aren't leaving the center today. Even for a gym battle."
Ash hummed thoughtfully. "And if the roads are bad, that means-"
"There's no way for you to get to Indigo Plateau," Misty finished his sentence.
Ash's eyes lit up, but they dimmed a bit when his own phone rang. Retrieving the device, Ash scanned the screen before announcing, "I guess it doesn't even matter. Indigo Plateau is closed today. Lance just texted me."
Elizabeth gasped and began bouncing up and down on her knees. "That means we all get to stay home and play in the snow!"
"Sure do!" Ash chuckled, a big grin on his face.
"Pi!" Pikachu chimed in.
Misty smirked and shook her head. "Wish I could be as excited as the rest of you."
Elizabeth frowned. "You don't want to play, Mommy?"
"No, of course I want to play with you!" Misty quickly rectified. "I just don't really like snow as much as you guys do."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked. "It's fun! And it's soft and cold and you can build a snowman and make snow angels and eat it like a snow cone!"
Misty smiled and giggled softly at her daughter's exuberance. "You're just as carefree as Daddy. It's very cute!"
Elizabeth grinned, one that was very similar to her father's. "I like being like Daddy!"
"I know you do," Misty laughed gently.
"But I'm like Mommy too," Elizabeth casually added, smiling as she rubbed her nose against Pikachu's head.
Ash chuckled strongly, Misty humming amusedly and raising an eyebrow. "I'm glad you think so!"
Elizabeth cheerfully nodded her head before announcing, "I'm gonna get dressed to play in the snow!"
"Wait, Lizzie!" Misty cried as the young girl put Pikachu down to crawl off the bed. The mouse, always worried about the child's safety, was quick to scurry after her, hopping aboard the girl's shoulder as she dismounted to the floor and ran straight out of the room. "No stopping her."
"She's just really excited for her first snow day!" Ash crowed.
Misty smirked and shook her head. "She didn't even know what a snow day was until you told her."
"Yeah, but now she loves it!" Ash chuckled.
"I won't be surprised if she asks for one every single day now," Misty sighed, though the smile was still on her face.
"Nah, she loves school," Ash refuted. "She just doesn't want to miss out on all the fun in the snow!"
"I really wish I was as excited as you two," Misty remarked.
Ash waggled his eyebrows, much to Misty's confusion. "I can make you excited for the snow."
"No you can't," Misty deadpanned, reaching out to playfully flick Ash between the eyes. "The only thing I get excited about when it comes to snow is when it melts."
Ash frowned, sagging his shoulders. "Not even playing in it with our adorable little girl?"
"She makes it tolerable," Misty admitted.
"And me?" Ash asked hopefully.
"No," Misty quickly replied, earning a pout from her husband.
"Help! Help!"
Ash and Misty both straightened up and prepared to jump out of bed, but relaxed when Elizabeth came teetering back into their room, one of her legs in her snow pants with the other half trailing behind her.
"What're you doing, you crazy girl?" Ash snickered.
"I can't get on my pants!" Elizabeth cried.
"That does seem to be a serious problem," Ash mused.
"Daddy, it's not funny!" Elizabeth whined, stomping the foot that wasn't entangled with her snow pants.
"Ah, there's the part of me she got!" Misty giggled as she slid out of bed. "I know those pants aren't easy, Lizzie. Let me help you."
"Yay!" Elizabeth cheered. As she turned around to run back to her room, however, she tripped over the loose leg and fell to the floor.
Ash's eyes widened as he jumped out of the bed, while Misty let out a sharp gasp and hurried over to the child. "Lizzie, are you okay?!"
"Uh huh," the child squeaked, looking over her shoulder and up at her mother. "That was silly!"
She pulled herself up as she laughed wildly, running back down the hallway with her snow pants still half-on. Misty just watched the girl as she went, unsure of how to react.
"Well that she definitely got from you," Misty declared, turning around to stare at her husband.
Ash just smirked and threw himself back down on the bed, leading Misty to roll her eyes.
"This is already the best snow day ever."
