Hey Everyone! It's me, your illustrious and sometimes delusional favorite author of all time…ever. As my fans know, I'm currently working on a large AAML story entitled "A New Journey" which is now into its forty-seventh chapter and about 1300 reviews deep; however, most of my fans also know that I sometimes like to take a break from the oft-serious tone of ANJ and write something more light-hearted, which brings us to here. I've decided to take up the alphabet challenge for AAML stories that was issued three years ago and that I'm obviously a little late for. I have decided to write all 26 chapters (all separate, small one-shots) in the setting of summertime since, as you should know, summer is bearing upon us quickly, and so each chapter's name will coincide with something that we all relate to the hottest (and my personal favorite) time of the year. I'll be updating regularly since the chapters aren't very long, so check often for updates, and if you like the little samples you see here, give my main fic a shot!

All that being said, I'm going to shut up now and let you enjoy the story!

"I see one!" Ash hurriedly ran over to the small mound of dirt poking up from the earth. He leaned in and inspected the miniature hill before happily looking back and giving Misty and Pikachu a thumbs-up. "Definitely an ant hill!" he declared excitedly.

She rolled her eyes. "Remind me why I'm out here in the blazing sun looking for ants, when air conditioning is ten feet away?" She pointed to the Ketchum residence behind her, and Ash simply rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, Mist. You don't wanna miss this." His girlfriend was stubborn, but he was sure even she'd be able to appreciate the majestic art of ant extermination when she saw him in action.

"Fine. So why don't you get the poison and take 'em out?" The older teen had left the green spray bottle on the porch, opting to stake out the colony without its aid.

He shook his head excitedly. "See? This is the fun part! Me and Pikachu discovered a new way to take care of the ant problem in Ma's yard!" He took a few steps back before looking to his yellow friend. "Show her how we do it!"

Nodding excitedly, Pikachu took a few steps forward before falling onto all fours. Electricity began crackling from his cheeks as he built energy.

"W-what's he doing, Ash?" Misty asked, a little worried as she examined the dry grass and the lack of humidity in the air.

"Thundershock!"

At the word, Pikachu gave a small cry, and a thin burst of lightning sped from his body and made direct contact with the mound, which instantly blackened and then crumbled under the intense pressure.

"Cool, huh?"

"Pika!" the Pokémon agreed, quickly turning around to see the redhead's reaction.

She shook her head in disbelief. "No, Ash. Not cool. Do you realize what woulda happened if one of those sparks had hit the ground?"

He scratched his head. "Um…nothing?"

"Look at how dry the yard is!" She kicked the ground, sending up a plume of dirt. "You could have started a small fire in your own backyard! And look over there!" She pointed to the white picket fence which separated the backyard from the open plains that ultimately led to the Kanto-Johto mountainous border.

"What if you'd hit the fence? What would your mom have thought about that?"

He smiled, a small blush appearing on his cheeks as he realized the risks he'd inadvertently been taking. "I guess now's not a good time to mention we've done this five times already, huh?"

"Look, I know your mom's used to you screwing up-"

"Hey!"

"But now that we're together, you have to be more careful! If you do stupid stuff like this under my watch, then she's gonna think I'm no smarter than you."

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes sarcastically. "If she does think that, at least she knows the truth!"

"What?"