Hey Everybody! Obviously it's not Independence Day yet, but I couldn't delay the timing of this chapter. So if it annoys you to read this early I guess you can either wait till the Fourth, or come back and read it again, haha! Seriously, though, I want to say thank you to all my amazing reviewers who continue to provide feedback and inspire this story. Y'all are awesome!

Now go on, read, enjoy, and REVIEW PLEASE!

"Thanks for letting us use your ranch, Professor!"

"Yeah, this was so nice of you!"

"Oh, it's nothing," the older man waved. "Besides, the Pokémon love having company. You're all doing me a favor by coming - !"

Before he could continue, Muk suddenly jumped him from behind.

"Ah! Muk, get off!" Tracey struggled to push the poison type off his boss as Misty, Ash, Delia, and a slew of Pallet residents chuckled at the Professor's exaggerated cries.

"We're over here," Delia pointed as Muk regained composure and slid off his best friend. "Professor, Tracey, you will be joining us, won't you?"

Oak dusted himself off as he stood. "Well that depends. Did you make your famous apple pie?"

"Of course!" She blushed slightly; barely noticeable under the pale moonlight. "But I wouldn't call it famous…"

"Oh, c'mon Ma, everyone knows it's the best in Pallet Town."

"And better than anything in Cerulean! Trust me."

The blush deepened. "Well, if you're all so hungry for it, come over to the blanket." She motioned for them to follow her to a sprawling oak tree on a nearby hill. "I thought we'd have the best view from here, so I set up the blanket and basket."

As they all took a seat on the wide, blue-and-white checkered sheet, Ash's mom opened the basket and passed around plates and forks.

"Delia, you didn't need to bring real silverware!" Oak cried in a bemused tone.

She gave him a puzzled look. "Why not?"

The Professor rolled his eyes in amazement. "Always the perfect host, aren't you…even to a picnic blanket!"

Everyone laughed as the pie was taken out and cut. It had just been taken from the oven an hour earlier, and the crust was still flaky and smoking with every slice.

"Hot!"

Misty gave her boyfriend an incredulous stare. "You tried to bite into it already? You have to blow first!"

"It just looked so good…" he answered dejectedly.

She laughed despite herself and grabbed his hand. "You're cute when you're hungry."

His eyes widened. "Wow!"

"What?"

"Nothing…I just was expecting a sarcastic remark."

She winked. "You can't predict Misty Waterflower. Besides, now that we're a couple, I don't think I can tease you as much as I used to…after all, what does it say about me if I'm dating a guy I constantly make fun of?"

"So you're not gonna call me 'dense' anymore?"

"Well…not as much."

The two blushed as Tracey took a seat behind them, balancing a plate on his lap. "It was nice of you to let the mayor borrow Pikachu and Torkoal."

"Well, when he said he needed their help lighting the fireworks, I knew they'd have fun too, so it made sense."

The Professor looked at his watch. "Speaking of which, they should be starting any – "

With a bang, the sky suddenly lit up in dazzling colors as the national anthem played from a large speaker system near the lab.

Below the hill, children started waving their flags back and forth in time to the anthem, while the men removed their hats and women covered their hearts.

Standing up together, the group on the hill watched in awe at the sparkling display as each new firework burst into sight before slowly melting away into the inky darkness and twinkling glow of the surrounding starlight.