Hello everyone. I know it's been nearly three months since I updated any of my stories but I've finally finished the tenth chapter of Two of a Kind. I hope you enjoy it. As I promised, there's more focus on Ash and Misty. Read & Review.

The next day, Tyson (with Misty's help) served Hilary breakfast in bed.

"Wow. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. How did you manage to put all this together?" Hilary asked.

"Misty helped," he said, rubbing the back of this head. "Here's some apple juice. I'll put it on the nightstand."

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble. I would've settled for cereal and a glass of water."

"I wanted to. And besides, you need a substantial breakfast to help build up your strength again."

"Well, I can't argue with that. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm gonna go talk to Ash about something and then I'll be right back, okay?"

"Alright."

Tyson found Ash eating his own breakfast.

"Hey Ash," he greeted.

"Oh, good morning Tyson. What's up?" Ash asked.

"Well, Hilary and I are going on a date tomorrow, for starters," Tyson said proudly.

"Really? That's great! Where to?"

"Just around Cerulean City. We're spending the day together."

"So I guess this means you know how she feels about you, huh?"

"Well, I know she likes me and since we're going on an official date, I figure that she might feel something beyond friendship for me."

"I'm really happy for you. Congratulations."

"There's something I wanted to ask you about too. I still want to try out pokémon battling so could you do a practice battle with me later today?"

"Sure. It'll have to be after Misty officially closes the gym to challengers though."

"That's fine. See you later."

Just as he had promised, Tyson went back to Daisy's room to check on Hilary.

"Hey Hil," he said as soon as he walked in.

"What did you talk to Ash about?" Hilary asked.

"I just asked him for a practice battle later. Speaking of which, do you wanna come down and watch some gym battles? I'll take your plate back to the kitchen while you go down to the stadium."

"Alright."

Throughout the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon, Tyson, Hilary and Ash watched trainers challenge and lose to Misty. Only one, a boy, managed to get a Cascade Badge and Misty gave it to him, knowing he had no chance of winning after learning that he had only recently become a trainer.

During this time, feeling bold, Tyson had put his arm around Hilary and pulled her close. Hilary didn't seem to mind. In fact, she smiled soon after being pulled into his embrace. Ash watched the two of them and although he didn't show it, the truth was that while he truly was glad for them, he was envious of Tyson. His relationship with Hilary seemed to be progressing rapidly while Ash's relationship with Misty was stagnant in comparison. Ash didn't want to rush Misty into anything but his feelings for her were just as strong as Tyson's feelings for Hilary and he wanted to let them show but he was afraid of how she would respond.

I can face down the most dangerous pokémon without flinching when I have to but I can't be bold enough to tell a girl I love her. How pathetically ironic. Maybe I need to take another cue from Tyson and just be straightforward about my feelings. I'll give it a shot after my battle with him.

Later that day, around five o-clock, Misty closed up the gym for battles and Ash decided to ask Tyson if he was ready for their practice battle. Ash found Tyson in Daisy's room sitting on his knees and what appeared to be rubbing Hilary's legs up and down. Ash looked at the scene with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"Tyson, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Ash. Just giving Hilary a little massage. She said her legs were feeling really stiff from sitting in the stands all day, so I figured this would be the best way to relieve it," Tyson said.

"I told him it wasn't really necessary, but he insisted. I do have to say though, my legs are feeling better," Hilary said.

"Well Tyson, Misty's closed the gym from challengers for the day, so I came to see if you were ready for that practice battle."

"Oh sure. Tell Misty I'll need to borrow some of her pokémon and I'll be in the stadium in a minute."

"Alright," Ash said before walking out of the room.

Tyson turned to Hilary and stood up before sitting beside her on the bed.

"How are your legs?" he asked.

"Much better. Thanks."

"What about the rest of you? You haven't been feeling weak or sore or anything?"

"No, in fact, the only time I feel bad physically is when anything touches the spots on my back where I got cut."

"Alright, but I don't want you sitting in the bleachers this time."

"Don't worry, I'll stand," Hilary said.

"Good. Let's get to the stadium then."

Tyson and Ash were now standing on opposite sides of the stadium floor. Misty was standing off to the sidelines acting as the referee.

"This will be a two-on-two battle with no time limit. The contestants are ready…start!"

Misty waved the red flag and both Tyson and Ash took out a pokeball.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash said as he threw his pokeball. The fire lizard roared upon being released.

"Corsola, go!" Tyson said. The coral pokémon appeared with a battle cry.

"Good choice Tyson. I see you've been paying attention to the matches," Ash said. "Now let's see if you can use Corsola's powers effectively. Charizard, Steel Wing!"

Charizard's wings glowed white and he jumped up and flapped his wings to give him lift. The dragon-like pokémon floated a couple feet above the ground for a few moments before charging at Corsola.

Tyson looked at the charging pokémon with increasing anxiety, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, an idea struck him and he smirked.

"Corsola, use Bubblebeam. Aim for Charizard's face," Tyson said.

Corsola took a breath and let out a stream of large bubbles, aiming for its opponent's face. Just as Tyson had hoped, the bubbles got in Charizard's eyes and blinded him. The pokémon roared in pain and flew erratically for a few moments before crashing to the ground.

"Yes!" Tyson said, pumping his fist.

"Charizard, are you okay?" Ash called.

Charizard roared again, with his eyes closed. Ash could see that his pokémon wouldn't be able to battle effectively in its current state so he had no choice but to call it back.

"Charizard, return!" A red right surrounded Charizard and the pokémon disappeared into its pokeball. Ash smiled at Tyson.

"That was a good move Tyson. How'd you come up with it?" Ash asked.

"I remembered how Jessie stopped Charizard's Flamethrower attack before he could execute it, so I thought I could do the same with Bubblebeam," Tyson said.

Ash immediately frowned. "Oh…well, I still have Pikachu." He turned to his best friend. "You ready buddy?"

Pikachu nodded and got on the battlefield facing Corsola.

"Alright, use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu ran at Corsola and his tail began to glow white.

"Corsola, use Spike Cannon to slow it down!" Tyson said.

"Pikachu, use Agility to dodge!"

The yellow mouse picked up speed and maneuvered through the spikes being fired at him and once he got close enough, he lunged forward and twisted his body around to smack Corsola with his Iron Tail attack.

Corsola slid back across the floor toward Tyson.

"Corsola, can you still fight?" Tyson asked. The coral pokémon gave a sound of approval. "Alright, use Recover."

Corsola began to glow white and within a few moments, the glow turned to rainbow colors and Corsola was healed.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Take it out with one shot!" Ash said.

Oh crap! "Corsola, use Ancientpower!"

Pikachu's cheeks sparkled and a large bolt of lightning emanated from his body heading straight for Corsola. At the same time, the coral pokémon had summoned the Ancientpower energy ball and it was racing toward Pikachu. The Thunderbolt attack struck Corsola full-force while Ancientpower hit Pikachu just before he could finish his attack.

The force of the Thunderbolt was enough to knock Corsola out and Pikachu suffered a serious blow due to his susceptibility to physical attacks, but was still able to fight and got back up.

"Corsola, return!" Tyson said. He looked up at Ash and smiled. "I knew this battle was going to be a challenge since Water types are weak against Electric types, but you won't be able to take out my next pokémon so easily. Go Staryu!"

Tyson threw the pokeball and the starfish pokémon appeared with a battle cry. Ash and Tyson stared each other down.

Tyson has obviously been paying attention to all the battles he's seen so he knows what Staryu's strengths and weaknesses are as well as what Pikachu's strengths and weaknesses are. He may be an amateur, but he's a quick learner.

Ash isn't holding back so I'm gonna have to think on my feet if I want to have any hope of defeating that Pikachu. It's a real long shot, but with Staryu's Light Screen, I just might have a chance! And if by some miracle I do win, not only do I get the satisfaction of knowing I'm good at pokémon battling, but I'll impress Hilary too.

"Well Tyson, it looks like I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops here. Sorry pal. You may be my friend, but I intend to win this battle," Ash said.

And there is no way in hell I'm losing to a beginner and looking like a total dork in front of Misty. That's the last thing I need.

"We'll see about that, Ash," Tyson said.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash said.

"Staryu, leap up to dodge and then use Rapid Spin!" Tyson said.

Pikachu shot a ball of electric energy at Staryu but the starfish pokémon leaped to avoid the attack and then began to spin until it looked like it was a disk and flew at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it!"

Pikachu couldn't dodge however as the attack was so fast that he didn't have time to and he was hit full on. The electric mouse flew back, flipped over and landed on his stomach.

"Don't give him a chance to breathe! Bubblebeam!" Tyson told Staryu.

Staryu thrust itself forward and bubbles streamed out of its three upper arms at a high velocity.

"Pikachu, get up! Use Agility to dodge, quick!"

Pikachu managed to stand up and used agility to avoid the incoming attack.

"Great, now use Thunderbolt!"

"Staryu, use Light Screen!"

The golden transparent barrier appeared in front of Staryu and held through the attack, but looked faded afterwards.

"Alright Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Tyson initially thought of using Bubblebeam but remembered how Pikachu had dodged Corsola's Spike Cannon attack. "Staryu, don't move!" Tyson said.

Misty, Hilary, and especially Ash looked at Tyson in surprise.

What is he thinking? He can't intend to just let Staryu take the hit… Hilary thought.

He'd better know what he's doing. I didn't lend him my best pokémon just to see him let it take abuse.

What's he up to? There's got to be some sort of plan behind this.

"Pikachu, be careful!" Ash called out.

As the electric mouse moved closer to Staryu, Tyson tried not to let a smirk appear on his face. Just as Pikachu began to leap up, Tyson saw his chance.

"Staryu, Bubblebeam!"

Crap! I knew he was up to something! It's too late to call off Iron Tail, so I'll just have to hope Pikachu has enough energy to withstand the attack. Ash thought.

The Bubblebeam attack knocked Pikachu out of the air and sent him flying, landing close to Ash.

"Pikachu, can you still fight?"

The pokémon lifted its head and managed to sit up. He looked fatigued and was breathing hard.

"Buddy listen, all you have to do is get in a good Thunderbolt attack and you can win. Do you think you can do it?" Ash asked.

Pikachu let out an affirmative reply and was now on his feet again.

"Alright Pikachu, go for it!"

"Staryu, use Rapid Spin now! Spin as fast as you can!" Tyson commanded.

Staryu obeyed and leaped up, spinning toward Pikachu while the yellow mouse let loose a Thunderbolt. The electrical attack hit Staryu head-on but the starfish's constant spinning helped to disperse the attack and Staryu was able to hit Pikachu. Unfortunately for Tyson, the mouse pokémon was still able to get back up, though he was clearly on his last legs and Staryu dropped to the ground, unable to move due to being paralyzed. Its Light Screen barrier was gone.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash said.

Pikachu generated a large ball of electricity and threw it at Staryu, shocking the starfish pokémon and causing its jewel to start flashing, indicating that it had fainted.

"Staryu is unable to battle. Ash wins," Misty said.

Ash sighed in relief and smiled at Tyson.

"You did great Tyson. If Pikachu's Static ability hadn't paralyzed Staryu, I would've lost."

"Well, I didn't really expect to win," he said.

"Still, you have a lot of potential."

"Thanks."

Tyson walked over to Misty and handed her the pokeballs she had given him.

"Sorry for letting your pokémon get hurt."

"It's okay. That's the nature of battling."

Tyson walked toward the entrance of the stadium but before he could leave, Hilary caught his left hand. He stopped and turned to her to see her smiling at him.

"Ash was right you know. You did a great job," she said softly.

"You think so?" Tyson asked.

Hilary leaned forward and kissed him on his left cheek.

"Does that answer your question?"

Tyson didn't answer, gazing at her in shock. His cheeks had a deep blush on them. A smile slowly formed on his face.

"Can I have another?" he asked.

Hilary laughed. "Let's get something to eat. I'm sure you're hungry after that battle."

"And you'd be right. Pokémon battling is almost as energy-consuming as beyblading."

The two walked out of the stadium.

Ash and Misty had seen the exchange between them, though they didn't hear all that was said. Misty was smiling throughout the whole scene, thinking it was cute, but Ash was thinking about his own relationship with Misty and felt that same small twinge of envy toward Tyson for having progressed with Hilary so quickly.

He looked at Misty and was surprised to find that she was looking at him as well. This is my chance to talk to Misty.

"We should probably get our pokémon to the Pokémon Center," she said.

"Before we do, there's something I need to say," Ash said.

"What is it?"

"I'm sure you saw Hilary just kiss Tyson on the cheek, right?"

"Yeah. I thought it was sweet. What about it?"

"Well, how do you think Hilary feels about him?"

"What do you-"

"Because I know for a fact that Tyson has a crush on her," Ash said before she could answer.

"How do you know? And where are you going with this?" Misty asked.

"I know because he told me. And where I'm going is…I think I feel the same way about you…"

Misty audibly gasped in shock. She couldn't believe it. She had waited for six years to hear this from him and now that she had…it didn't feel the way she expected. She should've been overjoyed but she wasn't. Something about the situation felt off.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Misty asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you suddenly started talking about Tyson having a crush on Hilary and you used that to segway into telling me you have a crush on me. The circumstances just seem strange."

"Look, if you don't feel the same-"

"I know exactly how I feel about you Ash Ketchum, but I don't know how I feel about this sudden confession. "

"How do you feel about me?" Ash asked.

"I'm not gonna tell you yet. I need time to think about this before I give an answer."

"That's fine. I don't want to pressure you. I just wanted to let you know how I felt."

Misty's expression softened when she heard that. Maybe he was being sincere but she still had questions she needed answered.

"Well, thank you for letting me know. For now, we need to take care of our pokémon."

Ash nodded and the two rushed out of the gym.

When Ash and Misty returned, Misty immediately went to Daisy's room, assuming Hilary would be there. She was right and wasn't surprised to see Tyson there as well. The two were watching TV.

"Hilary, I need to talk to you in private. Could you come to my room?" Misty asked.

"Sure."

Misty locked the door behind her and she and Hilary sat on the regular bed.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Hilary asked Misty.

"Ash told me he has a crush on me and I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? I thought this was what you wanted."

"I thought so too. It's not the fact that he said it that bothers me, it's the way he went about it. He started talking about your feelings for Tyson after seeing you kiss him on the cheek earlier and then said that Tyson has a crush on you-"

"Wait a minute, how does Ash know Tyson has a crush on me?" Hilary asked.

"Tyson told him apparently. What, do you think Tyson doesn't feel that way about you?"

"I…think he does. I mean, we're going on a date tomorrow and Tyson didn't say anything about it being a date between friends. Plus, he's been so attentive ever since my attack."

"That's what I was wondering about. Ash told me he had a crush on me right after saying that Tyson had a crush on you and I just wonder if this whole confession is a result of seeing the growth in your relationship with Tyson. Like maybe he thinks he likes me in that way because of how Tyson has treated you."

"I see. Well Misty, if you're unsure about his feelings, get him to show you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if Ash really does like you as more than a friend, even if it is just a crush, his actions will show that."

"I suppose you're right. That's what I'll tell him. Thanks Hilary."

"Hey, it's largely because of you and Ash that Tyson and I have gotten so far in our relationship. It's the least I can do."

When Hilary left, Misty continued to sit on her bed, contemplating what Hilary had said about Ash's feelings for her being "just a crush".

Just a crush…I guess I should be happy with that. It's not full-blown love, but it's a start. And if Ash can prove to me that his feelings are genuine, maybe someday they'll evolve into more…

Later that night, Misty called Ash into her room.

"Is there something wrong, Misty?" Ash asked when he sat down next to her.

"That depends. Ash, you asked me how I felt about you earlier today when you told me you had a crush on me and I told you I wasn't ready to give you an answer. Well, I'm still not ready but that's where you come in."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ash, I'm going to be frank with you. I'm not sure whether these feelings you claim to have for me are real. So until you show me that they are, I'm going to withhold giving you an answer as to my feelings for you."

Ash looked at her in shock. What reason would she have for doubting him?

"Misty, why would I lie about something like that?"

"I didn't say you were lying. I'm just unsure about the reasons why you confessed."

"Mist, I confessed because I wanted to let my feelings out. What other reason would I have?"

"Ash, I don't want to get into an argument with you. The fact is that I have my doubts, and if you were serious when you confessed, you'll show me that your feelings are genuine. Do you understand?"

Ash looked down, trying to think of what he could say to convince her, but soon realized that it would be a fruitless exercise. He looked up at her with a determined expression.

"Yes, I understand."

Misty smiled. "Good. See you tomorrow."

Ash nodded and left the room. He walked to Violet's room and climbed into her bed. Before he drifted off to sleep, Ash made a vow to himself.

If she wants me to prove myself, that's what I'll do. And I'll show her that my feelings for her go well beyond a simple crush. Starting tomorrow.