Last chapter was heavy on Ash and the twins, so figured it was turn for some Misty with their "sweet" older kids ;)

Aiden and Michelle: 9 years old


Read All About It

"Whatcha lookin- at?"

Michelle shrieked and pulled her magazine closer to her chest before narrowing her eyes. "Aiden, you scared me!"

"Yeah, that was kinda the point," Aiden chuckled, leaning back. He had plopped himself down on the couch in order to get as close to Michelle as possible in his (successful) attempt to spook her.

"Well quit it," Michelle grumbled, glaring at her brother before slowly returning her gaze to her magazine.

Aiden shifted his eyes around before continuing, "I am still curious about what you're reading."

Michelle scoffed. "Since when do you care?"

"Since now," Aiden replied earnestly. "Come on, just show me!"

"No."

Aiden looked offended. "You're really not gonna share with your brother? Your twin brother?"

"No," Michelle repeated.

Growling lowly, Aiden got to his feet and relented, "alright, you win. I'll leave you alone."

"How generous of you," Michelle droned sarcastically, sounding remarkably like her mother.

Aiden slowly started to walk past Michelle, but in one swift motion, reached out and snatched the magazine from her hands, making a run for it. Michelle snarled and jumped to her feet, storming after her brother. "AIDEN!"

Without a second thought, Aiden hopped up onto the kitchen table, holding the magazine in front of him and reciting the title on the cover. "Litten Beat? Isn't this one of those cheesy magazines they make for girls?"

"No!" Michelle spat. The blush on her face implied otherwise.

Aiden clicked his tongue. "Michelle Aimi Ketchum, I thought you were smarter than that! How does a brilliant girl like you go from reading super long novels to this rag?"

"I'm allowed to like different things, you know," Michelle grumbled indignantly, crossing her arms.

"Well…let's see what exactly you were so absorbed in," Aiden sighed, turning the magazine around so he could look at the page Michelle had been reading before he'd snatched it.

"Don't you dare!" Michelle snapped, leaning forward on the balls of her feet.

Clearing his throat, Aiden dramatically read, "All about Sterling Stone; The Pokémon World's Smartest (and Cutest) Trainer!"

"Aiden…" Michelle warned, her voice low.

The boy lowered the magazine and smirked at his sister. "You've still got the hots for him? It's been five years!"

"Give me back my magazine," Michelle demanded, holding her hand out.

"Sterling Stone, son of former Hoenn champion Steven Stone and former Sinnoh champion Cynthia Stone," Aiden continued reading. "Birthday is September 28. He's 12 years old. His partner Pokémon is a Metagross who evolved all the way from a Beldum that his father gave him, though he also frequently uses his Gabite as well, especially in major tournaments."

"Aiden, I swear…" Michelle hissed.

"Also, this headline is a total joke," Aiden snorted, flicking the article's title. "It'll just be outdated next year when I become the cutest Pokémon trainer!"

Michelle's face softened as a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. "Aw, I didn't know Mom was writing for Litten Beat!"

Aiden scowled as he lowered the magazine. "I'll have you know I constantly receive comments about how cute I am; it's not just Mom who thinks so."

"Then those three people should probably get their eyes checked," Michelle deadpanned.

Aiden was about to fire back at her, but then he realized it wasn't worth wasting his breath over. There were much, much better ways to get back at her than just yelling. Smirking, Aiden knelt down in front of Michelle, covering his face with the magazine so he was hidden behind Sterling Stone's.

"Marry me, Michelle," Aiden breathed in a cool voice, doing his best to imitate the young trainer. "Make all my dreams come true."

Michelle's upper lip curled. "I really hate you right now."

"Is that truly how you feel about me?" Aiden sighed, continuing to impersonate Sterling. "I thought you loved me. You kissed me, right on this page!"

"No I didn't!" Michelle shrieked, finally managing to snatch the magazine away from Aiden. He began to laugh hysterically, falling on his side and rolling across the table as he chortled. "Ugh, you're so immature!"

"Aiden, Michelle, I…oh, Aiden, really?"

The boy suddenly stopped laughing and slowly looked up, finding his mother standing nearby with a disapproving look on her face.

"Will you get off the kitchen table?" Misty chastised, sounding more exhausted than anything. "We eat on there, for Arceus' sake."

"Uh…sorry, Mom," Aiden apologized sheepishly, dismounting the table and landing on the hardwood floor.

Narrowing her eyes, Michelle turned towards her mother and informed her, "the only reason Aiden was up there was because he literally took my magazine out of my hands and was playing keep away with it!"

Misty's exasperation only grew. "Seriously, Aiden?"

"I can't help it that she's such an easy target," Aiden dismissed, shrugging his shoulders.

"You two were so sweet with one another when you were little," Misty sighed, longing for those distant days. "Always holding hands and cuddling with one another…now all you do is go out of your way to annoy each other."

"That's because Michelle wasn't in love when we were little," Aiden taunted, causing Michelle's fierce blush to return.

"In love?" Misty repeated. "Who is she in love with?"

"No one!" Michelle cried.

"Sterling Stone!" Aiden rushed out, a delirious grin on his face. "Michelle was ogling at his picture in that magazine!"

He pointed at the issue in Michelle's hands, leading Misty to raise an eyebrow. Michelle huffed and hid it behind her back, as if that would get her mother to forget about it.

"Can I see?" Misty asked, holding her hand out and wiggling her fingers.

"What?!" Michelle yelped. "No, Mom!"

"I just want to see what he looks like," Misty tried. "He was such a cute little boy! I'm sure by now he's quite handsome."

Reluctantly, Michelle handed the magazine over to her mother. Misty examined the picture of him before showing off a sweet smile. "Yep, very handsome! He's always been a perfect mix of Steven and Cynthia. I certainly don't blame you for still having a crush on him, Shelly!"

Aiden snickered as Michelle's blush somehow managed to deepen. "Thanks, Mom."

"What's he up to nowadays?" Misty wondered, her eyes continuing to scan the page.

"Mom, are you seriously reading that article?" Michelle muttered.

"Oh, he's in Sinnoh now," Misty breathed. "He started his journey in Hoenn. Yes, I remember hearing about him competing in the Ever Grande Conference last year! Dad was very impressed with him."

"Don't you have to be impressive if you're the kid of two champions?" Aiden scoffed.

"Of course not, just look at you," Michelle quipped.

"Nice try, but Mom's not a champion," Aiden huffed, sticking his tongue out at his sister.

"Come on, you two, quit fighting."

Aiden and Michelle turned their attention back onto their mother, who sounded a bit distracted. As it turned out, she was still scanning the article in Michelle's magazine.

"Mom, I think you're getting a little too into that," Michelle murmured.

"It's just funny reading this kind of stuff," Misty giggled. "I used to read magazines like this all the time when I was your age. Now everything in here is about the kids of people I know!"

"You read that junk?" Aiden gasped, pointing at the magazine.

"It is not junk!" Misty sighed, almost dramatically. "This is a huge part of being a young girl. It's hard to resist the allure of knowing what type you'd be if you were a Pokémon."

Michelle's eyes lit up at the mention. "I got water on that quiz!"

"Me too!" Misty puffed. "That's how I knew it was legit."

Aiden groaned and rolled his eyes. "This family is a mess."

Michelle smirked at her brother. "You're just mad you didn't get to take the quiz."

"No, I really don't care," Aiden deadpanned.

"You'd have probably ended up as a dark type or something like that anyway," Michelle mused, her lips bending into a sly smile. "Considering you're always so rude and grouchy."

"Mom!" Aiden whined.

"Michelle," Misty warned.

The younger red head fluttered her eyelashes at her mother. "Would it help if I told you I gave Lizzie the quiz and she got fairy type?"

"That's very sweet of you, and super cute, but it doesn't excuse you being mean to your brother," Misty replied, shaking her head. "Speaking of Lizzie, I have to go wake her up from her nap. We're meeting Dad for dinner soon, so I need her to be fully awake before we go. You two should start getting ready too."

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed now?" Aiden complained, motioning to his t-shirt and jeans.

"The outfit's not bad," Misty reasoned with him. "I mostly meant brushing out your hair. It looks like a Rattata's nest."

Now it was Aiden's turn to blush. Michelle began to giggle, and Aiden shot her a nasty glare. Misty missed it this time, because she was busying herself with flipping through the rest of the magazine. Michelle finally realized what her mother was doing, and her expression quickly became static.

"Um, Mom, maybe you should go wake Lizzie up…"

"I'm going to, sweetheart," Misty assured her, still sounding distant.

"So how about you give me the magazine and you can take care of that?" Michelle asked, forcing a caring tone. Aiden raised an eyebrow, sensing that his sister was up to something.

"Sure…" Misty trailed off, hitting a page that seemed to pique her interest. She blinked once, then twice, then looked up at her daughter.

"Uh…what's up?" Michelle questioned awkwardly.

Wordlessly, Misty flipped the magazine upside down. A large poster unfurled, revealing the image of none other than Ash, surrounded by pink hearts.

"Okay, so the downside of these magazines is that Dad always ends up in them," Michelle grumbled, squeezing the bridge of her nose while Aiden pulled a look of horror. "Girls really like him, apparently."

Misty still wasn't saying anything. She was now twisting the magazine to face her, scanning the cartoonish poster of her husband. Aiden and Michelle were fully expecting her to freak out about it, thanks to her notorious jealousy streak, and braced themselves for the reaction.

So they were both stunned when, instead, their mother started laughing. Uncontrollably.

"You okay, Mom?" Aiden asked unsurely.

"This is the dorkiest thing I've ever seen," Misty stated bluntly, not bothering to take her eyes off of the poster. "Look at his face! They actually chose the most uncomfortable photo of him imaginable. And look at all those giant pink hearts! Oh my gosh, this is gold."

Aiden and Michelle were still stunned. Neither one knew what to say, or even how to react.

"You know who would love this?" Misty sighed, not processing that her children were not responding to her. "Your little sister. I'm really tempted to give this to her to hang up in her room just so your father has to look at it every day."

"Wait, so you think the poster is funny?" Aiden muttered, trying to make sure he understood. "You're not annoyed by it?"

"How can I be annoyed by this?" Misty asked, pointing at Ash's face on the poster. "It looks like he was threatened into taking this photo. It's perfectly terrible!"

Misty continued giggling to herself as she walked towards the stairs, bringing the magazine with her. Aiden and Michelle watched her go before exchanging bemused looks.

"I love Mom, but she really confuses me sometimes," Aiden remarked.

"You and me both…" Michelle muttered.