Hi guys! Happy PokeShipping week! I finally have enough time this year to contribute to the week celebrating my favorite pairing, so naturally I'm going to take advantage!

This collection will feature 7 short stories...one for each day of the week. Each story will feature a different theme, all chosen by the PokeShipping community. Some alternate themes were also offered, but no matter what, I will be picking from those provided themes!

For our first story, we will be focusing on Alola. We still don't know much about this new region, but I love new regions, so I decided to try my hand at it with the knowledge that we do have!

As always: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, there'd be a lot more continuity and recurring traveling companions all over the place!

Alola

"Oh my gosh! It's so cute!"

Ash sighed, but the amused smirk on his face was telling the real story. "Misty, you've said that about every water type we've seen since we got here."

Misty had stopped to look over the railing at the ocean. A Wishiwashi was leaping in and out of the water, its tiny blue and white body shimmering in the sunlight.

"That's because they're all so cute," Misty giggled, turning her back towards the railing. "And there are so many of them! This place sure is beautiful."

Now Ash had his brow furrowed. "How can you tell? We just got off the plane 20 minutes ago."

Misty smirked and shot the boy an incredulous look. "Ash, anybody with eyes could tell you how beautiful this place is! It doesn't matter if it's been 20 minutes or 20 years. Just look at all of the trees, the flowers, the blue ocean!"

Ash smiled and shook his head at her overexcitement. Misty had come to visit him and his mother on his most recent return from his latest journey. When Ash commented he was tired, his mother suggested a vacation. This got Misty's attention right away.

"A vacation?" She repeated, obviously intrigued. "To where?"

"Oh, there are so many places we could go!" Delia replied, causing Misty to blush. She wasn't sure if the "we" was meant to include her or not, but just the very thought of going on a trip with Ash and his mother was enough to make her heart race. That was something that perhaps a couple would do, and she and Ash certainly weren't that.

As much as she'd like to be.

"I think somewhere warm would be best," Delia continued, oblivious to Misty's flustered state. "Somewhere that's far off and very different from Kanto."

"Hey, I know!" Ash suddenly cried, alarming Misty and snapping her back to reality. "Alola!"

"Alola?" Misty muttered. "Didn't you travel through there once?"

"Sure did!" Ash replied warmly. "It was great! There are so many cool Pokémon there that you never see in any other region."

Misty rested her head in her hand and rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever think of anything besides Pokémon? The point of a vacation is not to look for Pokémon, Ash."

"It's part of mine," Ash grumbled, a small pout gracing his face.

"I'm surprised you're even taking the idea of a vacation seriously," Misty continued, unaffected by such a look. "You're usually so ready to set off on your next journey."

"Yeah, but I think maybe I've been doing a bit too much of that," Ash admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess you gotta go a bit slower as you get older."

Misty rolled her eyes at the comment. "Ash, you're 17."

"So? That's older," Ash reasoned.

"Whatever," Misty sighed, tired of the banter.

"Alright, Alola it is!" Delia decided, clapping her hands together. "I'll have Professor Oak call up his cousin to help us find a nice hotel. Misty, you're coming with us, right?"

Misty's blush from before returned, but this time it had intensified tenfold. Ash's face was now red as well.

"M-me?" Misty stammered, pointing at herself.

"Of course!" Delia giggled. "I think it'd be so nice to have one of Ash's closest friends join us!"

A shiver went up Misty's spine at the way Delia used the phrase "closest friends." She had said it in such a way that she wanted to say something else…almost like "closest friends" was just a cover.

"Besides, you work so hard at the gym," Delia continued. "I think you could use a nice vacation too! Don't you think?"

Misty slowly moved her eyes towards Ash. He wasn't looking at her, just his mother. But his eyes were wide, his jaw was dropped, and his cheeks were red.

"Ash?" Delia prodded.

The boy finally shook his head out before turning to face Misty, smiling at her. "Yeah! I think it'd be really fun if you came with us, Mist!"

Her heart fluttered at the use of her nickname; the one that only Ash called her by. The sweet smile on his face soon brought one to Misty's, and she gave a small nod of her head.

"It does sound like fun…alright! Let's go to Alola!"

Once Samson Oak picked them up from the airport and drove them into Hau'oli City, Misty's eyes lit up in the exact same way they had when she'd seen all the different water type Pokémon.

"Look at all of these shops!" Misty marveled, pressing her face against the glass of the rickshaw they were riding in.

"Please no shopping," Ash groaned, throwing his head back.

"Don't be silly!" Delia giggled. "Of course we have to do some shopping while we're here. They have such beautiful things, especially in the marketplace!"

Ash sighed and sunk down in his seat. "And you guys get upset with me for talking about Pokémon…"

Pikachu, who was sitting on his trainer's lap, snickered at the boy's misfortune.

Misty finally pulled away from the window of the rickshaw, smiling over her shoulder at the pouty teen. "Don't be such a grouch, Ash. Remember, this is a vacation! You have to relax and enjoy yourself."

Ash thought about this for a moment before replying, "You know what would help me relax?"

Misty blinked, uncomfortable warmth beginning to tickle her cheeks. "What?"

"A battle."

Misty gasped dramatically and nearly fell out of her seat. "What?! Are you kidding me?!"

Ash tilted his head, not understanding Misty's dramatic response. "No. I find battles to be very relaxing!"

Misty sighed and shook her head. "What about hanging out on the beach? That's relaxing! I think that might be a better idea than going out looking for a Pokémon battle."

"But Misty, don't you want to see more Alolan water types?" Ash asked.

"I can see them on the beach," Misty grumbled.

"Yeah, but not in full action!" Ash cried. "You haven't seen anything until you've seen Popplio using its bubbles like bouncy little trampolines to-"

"Ash, I didn't want to come to Alola to watch you battle other people," Misty hissed, narrowing her eyes at the confused boy.

"Then why did you want to come to Alola with me?" Ash asked.

Misty's heart nearly stopped at the question. The rickshaw came to a halt, Ash and Misty's eyes still locked and refusing to leave one another. Delia leaned over to inform the two that they had arrived, but when she saw the current situation, she shut her mouth and slipped out of the rickshaw on her own, a little smile on her face. Pikachu had followed right after her, settling himself on her shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" Samson asked, confused by Delia's expression.

"Just fine," Delia confirmed, nodding her head.

Samson raised an eyebrow and looked into the rickshaw over her shoulder. "And those two…?"

"Oh, they're a little complicated," Delia replied, her smile widening. "Teenagers, you know?"

Back in the rickshaw, Ash and Misty hadn't moved an inch. They hadn't even realized they'd stopped, or that Delia had already gotten out.

"Misty," Ash pressed, "why did you want to come to Alola with me?"

"You know why," Misty breathed. "I'm tired like you are and I wanted to relax. That's all."

Ash just stared at her for another moment. "I don't think that's the only reason."

Misty scoffed. "What, now you're a detective all of a sudden?"

"You've always liked watching me battle," Ash countered. "You've always liked cheering me on and making fun of me whenever I make a stupid decision. But now you keep talking about shopping and the beach…those are things we'd kind of do on our own, without anyone else. Maybe even without my mom."

Misty sighed and averted her eyes. "It's just…I've missed you, Ash. You're always gone for so long on these journeys of yours. And yes, of course I love watching you battle! But I do that all the time on TV. Every league tournament you've been in over the past few years, every battle competition…I watch them all. Now we finally have the opportunity to spend some time together, and I'd like to do something that doesn't make me feel like I'm just staring at you through a TV screen. I want to do something that we could only do together when we're with each other."

Ash was just staring at Misty with an unreadable expression, and all of a sudden she felt far too vulnerable to be comfortable.

"I…I don't even know if that makes sense," Misty tried, "but-"

"It makes sense," Ash cut Misty off, his voice soft. "I'm sorry I didn't get it sooner."

Misty's eyebrows shot up. Ash actually understanding her? And apologizing for being dense? She could hardly believe it, and she couldn't stop her lips from curling up at it.

"It's okay," Misty breathed, her voice a bit shaky. "I'm just glad I don't sound crazy."

Now Ash was smiling. "You don't sound crazy. Not at all. Now…why don't we get off and decide where you'd like to go first?"

Misty giggled and nodded her head. "I would like that."

I hope you all enjoyed my try at Alola! Like I said, a little challenging, but it sure was fun to give it a go!

I can't wait to share stories throughout the rest of the week with you all! The influx of new content during PokeShipping Week is part of what makes this week so special, and I am thrilled to be participating again this year!