Technically, I should have done this last chapter, but I like to keep the last chapter clean so no authors notes ever. I'm sure you're all more interested in the preview(s) promised, so I'll get this over with quickly. I'd just like to thank the following for reviews, favourites, and alerts:

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Now, with that out of the way, here come the previews. Some of them are just lines, others paragraphs, and there's a good sized chunk one for the end. I'm not sure how much or how many of these I'm going to use, but I'm sure you'll all get a laugh or two out of it anyway.

So without further ado, in no particular order . . .

"For the last time, Ash! Brock is not Tracey's boyfriend!" Misty screamed. "Think harder."

Ash cringed as a thought came to mind. "It's not Professor Oak is it?" he asked, making a sickened face. "Because that would be soooo wrong. He's old enough to be his grandfather."

"No it's not Professor Oak," Misty replied through gritted teeth. "But you're getting warmer."

"So it's someone from Pallet?"

"YES!" Brock and Misty yelled at him.

"It's not me is it?" he asked, paling as he pointed worrying to himself. Brock and Misty dropped to the floor in stupification.

"That's it!" Ash cried, commanding the attention of the room. "From now on, Misty is the only person allowed to have any fantasies involving me - romantic or otherwise."

"I second that," Misty agreed, looking pointedly at the pretty burnet across the room.

"You saw their reactions," Jesse told him. "They've got no reason to lie about this."

"It's a lot to take in," he replied quietly

"You think it's a lot for you?" Jesse asked incredulous. "I've just found out the kid we've been stalking and trying to rob for the past six years is (?)"

"Misty!" he cried gleefully as he heard a familiar laugh echo through the silence. Throwing his previous caution to the wind, Ash raced into the foreboding darkness, thinking of nothing but the fastest way to get himself to Misty and to stay there forever.

"He's completely in love with her, isn't he?" Dawn asked rhetorically as she watched disappear. She suddenly knew exactly what it was Brock hadn't wanted to tell her so as to let Ash work it out for himself.

"Completely," a voice that wasn't Brock's replied, drawing the remaining party's attention. "Although it's probably not fair for me to say so."

Dawn gaped as the most elegant woman she had ever seen in her life appeared from the darkness. She was almost ethereal, her pale skin glowing against her dark navy corset and silk skirt that seemed to drift behind her as pulled by some magical breeze. Her hair was dark and long - finger tip length at least - the obscure (?) colouring more evident against the blacker than black 3/4 length jacket she wore over top. Her eyes were brilliant and full of such intrigue and knowledge that Dawn almost shuddered under the woman's gaze. When she moved it almost seemed like she was floating.

"Who are you?" Dawn half whispered, unable to keep the awe from her voice. She had never been so entirely struck by one person before in her life.

"I am - " the woman began, but she was cut off by a not entirely unexpected gesture from Brock. Given Dawn's own appraisal of the woman, it was unsurprising that Brock had reacted in the usual way.

"(?)," he said almost softly as he grasped her hand in his and knelt down before her. He gazed adoringly into her eyes, a goofy grin plastered on his face as he declared his love. "I am completely under your power. My princess . . . my love . . . I'm sure you don't have to look too far into the future to know that you and I are meant to be!"

"(?)?" Dawn asked. "That means your-" she began, but she was cut off by the strangest sound she had ever heard, at least in response to Brock seemingly doing his darndest to creep the woman out (at least in Dawn's opinion). She giggled - the beautiful, elegant woman who had walked into the room with an air of worldliness was actually giggling at one of Brock's corny lines. And even more than that, Dawn could swear she could see a pink blush forming on (?)'s pale cheeks.

Dawn could do nothing but stare. Someone had actually responded to one of Brock's pick up lines, and it wasn't a slap or something akin to Nurse Joy's gracious attempts to let him down gently (which were entirely futile), but encouragement even. And when Brock continued, pilfering his own brother's line about marble and lapus gems, the smile on (?)'s face said it all.

It looked like Brock had finally hit his home run.

Dawn's eyes narrowed at the two young women ahead of her. Here she was bundled up in layer upon layer of clothing looking like an only mildly attractive marshmallow, while those two looked like a couple of gorgeous snow bunnies in only slightly more clothing than their usual attire.

"Why aren't you guys cold?" she asked, her teeth chattering noisily as she spoke. "It must be like two degrees (celcius) here."

Misty and (?) just shrugged. "I guess we're just used to the cold," Misty replied. "Sinnoh's a lot more tempid, you know." A/N: let's assume it is

"If Misty's sent you in here to talk me out of this, I'm not going to change my mind," Brock said simply, not getting up from the bed where he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. "This isn't some spur of the moment decision. I've been thinking about it for a very long time and I love her and that's pretty much the only thing that matters."

"I'm not really sure why I'm here," Ash admitted honestly, scratching the back of his neck. "So, you really love her?" he asked awkwardly.

Brock nodded. "And before you or Misty say anything, it's not because she's the only girl in the universe that doesn't have a restraining order against me and actually lets me touch her on occasion," he said with a half smile as he opened his eyes and indicated for Ash to sit beside him so they could have a heart to heart. "She's wonderful," he sighed with a smile.

"But you guys have only been going out for six months," Ash protested, his voice becoming panicked. "I mean, me and Misty have liked each other for way longer so does that mean we must be in love too?"

'Yes,' Brock thought to himself, resisting the urge to chuckle at Ash's naivety.

"Oi!" Daisy cried as her sister tried to commandeer a bottle of the sparkling Muscat that had been served at the party. "You are like technically still under my supervision, so there will be none of the hard stuff for you, missy. And the same goes for you, Ashy," she added sternly, giving Ash a hard look. "Chocolate or Raspberry?" she asked, holding up two alco-pops for Misty to decide between.

She gently kissed his cheek before dropping his hand, and Ash's eyes continued to follow her as she walked away. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as Misty and tonight she was stunning. Without further introspection, Ash decided then and there that he would marry Misty Waterflower someday or die trying.

"How come this stuff didn't matter before?" Ash complained, wordlessly cursing stupid league regulations trying to prevent him from earning his badge. He had already had to give up one badge for no other reason than Misty being more fun to kiss than the cascade badge, and now he was finding out he would have to do the same again unless he could think of some way to get around this stupid (?).

The gym leader before him shrugged, and offered a wane smile. "I guess we really didn't think you'd get very far," she replied casually, not even attempting to spare his feelings. "But I think that hardly matters now."

"Are you going to come see the latest ballet?" Misty asked her long suffering boyfriend as they conversed via videophone. She gave him an almost pleading look as his eyes darted away, and suppressed a sigh of frustration. "Daisy's got a shoot next week, so I'll be take her place as the lead."

"I don't know, Misty . . ." he replied, too guilt ridden to meet her eye. He knew she wanted him there, but he didn't want to put off his training and lose time heading to Cerulean when the league competition was getting closer and closer. "I've got a lot of things . . ."

"It's ok, Ash," she told him with a smile that almost seemed genuine. "I know that your training is really important to you. It's going to be so weird kissing Tracey . . ."

"What?!" Ash cried as she trailed off.

"It's nothing," she replied with a shrug. "You know I'd much rather it was you playing the part . . ."

"Fine then, I will," he replied determinedly. "I'll see you in a week." And with that he hung up the phone, calling to Brock, Pikachu, and Dawn that they better get their asses into gear because they were leaving for Cerulean in half an hour whether they liked it or not.

Misty smiled victoriously.

"Misty, there's like, no kissing scene between those characters," Daisy pointed out, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"There is now," Misty replied, nodding her head in determination.

"But they're brother and sister," Daisy replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Ok, so I didn't exactly think this out, but it worked didn't it?"

Violet walked into the room at the point, noting the looks that her two sisters shared. "Please like tell me that look doesn't mean what I think means," she begged. "I can't stomach another rewrite."

"Violet," Misty said sweetly, flashing a smile at the second eldest Waterflower. "It's just a teeny tiny re-write, and only for the first week."

Violet raised an incredulous eyebrow. "She wants a kissing scene between Vorvis and Arianna," Daisy answered to Violet's questioning look.

"But they're like related," Violet answered with a look of disgust similar to Daisy's etched across her face. "Like really related. Like I'm going to have to re-write about three quarters of the script related!" she screamed the last part.

"But, Violet, it was the only way," Misty pleaded sullenly. "There's no way I was letting him get away with some excuse about his training."

Violet sighed, shaking her head at her little sisters desperate expression. They had all gone through their various boyfriends and knew that sometimes desperate measures were needed to get the attention of their beau. "You are so lucky that I love you baby sister. Sooooo lucky."

"Do you know how grateful we've been all these years that you two never had anything in the same egg-group?" he half-questioned/half-screamed at them.

"Brock, it's no big deal," Misty told him soothingly. "This sort of thing happens all the time."

"Really, Misty?" Brock replied sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at the redhead. "You mean that Pikachu routinely goes around impregnating fairy-group Pokemon just because they're in heat?" He gave her a cold look that made Misty shudder - she had never seen Brock so angry in her life.

Of course, Misty refused to let him know he had gotten to her and began to get defensive. "Well, I don't know," she replied, her voice laced with equal sarcasm as she jumped to her feet. "I assume its only the really cute ones like Zuri, and you know, ones in whoms vicinity he's left alone."

"What were you guys doing back there anyway?" Dawn asked, looking genuinely confused. She jumped back as Misty turned her glare upon the younger girl. "Nevermind."

"Look I know we were irresponsible not watching them," Misty admitted ruefully, "but you're acting like we knew this was going to happen if we left them alone. Even when he was 'round other females, Pikachu has always been able to restrain himself. He's never done anything like this before, and Zuri is barely a teenager."

"Yeah," Ash cut in, stepping up to defend both his girlfriend and his Pokemon. "Pik's never tried to knock up Buneary and god knows that thing has been in heat at least three times since we met it."

"Buneary is going to be so disappointed," Dawn sighed, sympathizing with her love sick rabbit. "Pikachu, what's Zuri got that Buneary doesn't got?" she demanded of the electric mouse indignantly.

Pikachu just yawned and nuzzled his new mate. He had never had a mate before, perhaps because opportunity had never presented itself previously, or perhaps - as Brock seemed to be insinuating - simply because Misty had never owned a suitable mate before now what with most of her Pokemon either being water group or genderless. Regardless, Zuri would be his only mate as pikachu's tended to mate for life, and Pikachu felt sure that Ash would be very pleased by that little factoid. Now he'd never be rid of Misty.

Brock was unconvinced by their argument. "Of course you guys should have known!" he cried, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation. "Do you think this is just some kind of coincidence that the soon-to-be parents are your marril," he said pointing at Misty, "and your pikachu," he finished pointing at Ash.

"This is exactly the sort of thing Professor Oak and I have been trying to warn you guys about for years," he muttered, almost to himself. "And then bloody Gary Oak manages to convince Tracey that he should send Misty one of Marril's litter - after his Kingdra knocked up her and almost every other female water Pokemon on the reserve, of course - just to see what happens. As though he didn't believe his own grandfather's research."

"What warning?!" Misty cried indignantly. "I don't recall anytime you told us to keep them apart just in case they ever fell like 'getting jiggy' with each other one of these days."

"Wait," Ash said, surprisingly catching a familiar thread in Brock's speel and for once in his life ignoring the mention of Gary Oak in favour of more pressing issues. "You mean that thing you guys are always saying about the Pokemon-Trainer bond, and reflecting 'romantic attachments'. I thought you were just trying to warn me that May had a crush on me. Do you know how much it freaked me out when Bulbasaur liked her bulbasaur back. I thought that meant I was supposed to like May, but then when I called the Professor, he said it usually only happened with the Pokemon you have the strongest connection with so for me it would be Pikachu, and I guess for you it would probably be Happiny now, and for Misty it would be . . ." Ash trailed off as he had a moment of 'einsicht'.

He looked down, his whole composure one of remorse. "I'm sorry we didn't listen to you earlier, Brock," he said quietly. "We should have known."

"Well I don't care," Misty said, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing her nose into the air. "I still don't think this is our fault. And I'm not apologising just because of some theory that is only supported by anecdotal evidence. I'm not apologizing until I see some hard science."

And that was Misty for you, stubborn 'til the end. Never admitting defeat.

And with a soft smile, all Ash could think was that it was no wonder he liked her so much.

So thanks again guys for reading, and look out for Ash: The Last Stand (History) some time. I'll put an announcement on this fic when the first chapter comes out, so leave your alerts for now as they'll come in handy.

Oh, and 'einsicht' is a German word with no real English equivalent that means something akin to insight and inspiration, but more powerful. If you've ever heard of Kohler and his apes, then you'll understand what I mean. Otherwise, youtube Kohler box if you want to see a pigeon do something cool.