Three Years Later

"Cerulean City Gym, Misty speaking."

"Hi, Misty. This is Mr. Mayer. Shane's dad?"

"Oh, hi Mr. Mayer. How can I help you?"

"I was calling to see if you would be interested in coming to a dinner on Friday to honor my competitor."

Friday night, hmm? Glancing over at my calendar, I checked Friday to see if I had anything going on that day. Not to my surprise, I was free that night with no prior plans. This was always how it had been these past years. I just didn't get out much anymore. Not since he and I broke up.

"I'm free that night," I told Mr. Mayer.

"Splendid. Shane will be happy to see you. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep it a surprise that you are coming," he explained.

"Alright."

"Good. Well I must be going. The dinner is at seven at the Indigo Plateau. Please wear something nice."

After I hung up the phone, I slumped down into my seat with a big sigh. Ever since I had watched Shane for Mr. Mayer, his family and I had become pretty good friends. He had even called me a few more times through the years to watch Shane some more. Although, in the past year, I hadn't seen Shane, having not received any requests to watch him. So, let's just say, that this dinner request was quite out of the blue. Nonetheless, though, I was happy to go if I could get out of this crummy gym for at least one night. Now all I needed to do was find something nice to wear that would meet the requirements of "nice dinner attire." I'd call my sisters, but even that seemed like a scary idea. Knowing them, they would try to dress me like them, which would not work for me.

/

Before leaving, I glanced at myself once more in the mirror. I normally didn't do this, but tonight I was really nervous about this dinner. I just wanted to look nice. After much deliberation and staring at racks of clothes at the store, I had decided to purchase a red dress with a sweetheart top that fell to just past my knees. In the middle of the dress, there was a silver band that gave some sparkle to the dress. For my hair, I had decided to wear it in a fishtail braid since that was one of the few hairstyles I knew how to do. For once, I actually thought I looked pretty good. Grabbing my sweater, purse, and keys, I headed for my car.

XXX

So apparently, there is this weird custom where, whoever is challenging the Pokemon Master, has to attend this stupid dinner to honor them. Plus, I had heard from some of the workers that Mr. Mayer-The Pokemon Master-didn't even know who he was up against. So, this dinner was going to allow him to be introduced to me. In addition to that, since it was a fancy dinner, I wasn't allowed to bring Pikachu with me. That wasn't even the worst part, though. What made it really sucky was that I had to dress up in a suit and a tie. I hated having to dress nice.

When I walked into the big banquet hall, I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of people there. I could recognize a few, but I barely actually knew any of them. Some of them I knew to be gym leaders, while others were part of the Elite Four and the Battle Frontier. I didn't know any of these people, yet they were all here to honor me. How had that worked out?

Thankfully, I was able to find Mr. Mayer rather quickly, as one of the dinner guests had grabbed my arm and dragged me over to him. When we reached him, he was in the middle of a conversation with, what I thought, was a gym leader from Hoenn. When he was finished talking to the gym leader, the man who had dragged me over here, interrupted him.

"Mr. Mayer, I would like you to meet your competition for Sunday. This here is-"

"Mr. Ash!" I heard a voice call my name. Turning in the direction it came from, I saw a younger boy with blonde hair push his was through the crowd and over to me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he seemed very familiar. And so did the name he called me. "It's really you! You're here!"

"-Ash Ketchum sir," the man finished, regardless of the fact this kid had already shouted my name.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Ash. I'm sorry about my son. He can get very excited about things." After shaking my hand, he picked up his son, trying to keep him from racing after people again. "I didn't know you knew our guest, Shane."

Shane? No way. It couldn't be. I knew Mr. Mayer had a son, but it was hard for me to picture this being his son. Shane looked a lot different from when I had last seen him. He was-if my math was correct-now seven years old. He looked slightly different, yet it seemed his personality was still in there. I honestly thought I would never see this kid again, but I guess life can throw surprises at you.

"Mmhm," Shane nodded. "This is Mr. Ash. He is Miss Misty's soul mate. At least that's what Mr. Brock told me. Mr. Ash is the one who taught me how to battle and how to do a bunch of tricks in the water. Remember?"

Misty…I hadn't heard that name in years. I hadn't even seen her during these three years. I had tried to avoid her at all costs, afraid to face her again. I didn't know what I would say to her, nor did I know what our meeting would be like. Go figure, this kid would be the one to bring up Misty.

"Ah. So you're the famous Mr. Ash. You've left quite an impression on my son. He tells me you're his hero. Wants to be just like you, too."

"Hero?" I asked very confused. Not once had I ever had anyone call me their hero, nor had anyone told me they aspired to be just like me. I barely knew this kid, but I couldn't help but feel really good about myself. I may have only gotten to know this kid for a little bit, but I was his hero. That, I had to admit, was a pretty cool thing.

"Yeah. Just like Miss Misty told you," he smiled. When I didn't say anything to confirm Misty telling me this, he frowned. "Miss Misty told you my message, didn't she?"

"No," I replied. At this he looked even more heartbroken than before. "I haven't talked to Miss Misty in a long time, though."

"Oh."

XXX

When I finally reached the dinner, I felt like I had entered a giant zoo. There were people everywhere, obscuring my view of the banquet hall. I recognized a bunch of people because they were either gym leaders or elite four members. I wouldn't lie, though. I had no interest in talking to them. Whenever I did, they always seemed to ask me about Ash and how he was doing. I would normally just say good, trying to jump to another topic. Tonight, though, I didn't want to deal with that.

As I was peering through the crowd to see if I could find some space to sit and relax, I felt myself shift forward as something large collided with me. Turning around, I saw a grown up looking Shane all dressed in a little suit and tie. When he saw me, he had the biggest smile I had ever seen. I knew my smile mimicked his, as I was beyond thrilled to see him. I had missed Shane so much during the time I hadn't seen him, and I couldn't get over how big he looked.

"You're here, Miss Misty! You're here!" he shouted, still clinging to my leg. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," I replied, giving him a big hug.

He stepped back in order to get some air, still smiling at me. "You look really pretty, Miss Misty," he complimented me. As cheesy as it sounded, his small but honest compliment made me feel loads better about myself.

"Thank you Shane. How are you? You look so big! When did you grow up so fast?" I know I sounded like an old lady talking to her grandchild, but I didn't care. Shane was like my adopted son.

"I don't know," he laughed. "My dad said it's because I eat a lot."

"I guess some things don't change, huh?" I kidded with him. Ever since I had met him he ate a lot.

"Yep." He looked around the room behind me before looking back at me, another big smile on his face. "I have a surprise for you, Miss Misty!"

"You do?" I could only imagine what his surprise was.

"Follow me," he replied.

He started walking toward a group of tables that, for some reason, nobody was sitting at. As we pushed our way through the crowd, I tired my hardest not to lose him in this sea of people. When we reached the tables he told me to sit down and that he would be right back with my surprise. Before I could ask him when he would be back, he sprinted back into the crowd, leaving me to sit awkwardly by myself.

XXX

While wandering through the crowd, I had unfortunately gotten stuck talking to this kid named Joey. I had no idea who he was, but he seemed to know exactly who I was. He told me how he had seen me around, and how he always wanted to battle me. Out of kindness, I asked him what kind of Pokemon he had. That's when he started going on and on about his Rattata, and how it was the best out there. He told me how that, although they may have lost some battles, his Rattata was still one of the best out there, and how he was sure it would beat my strongest Pokemon. I honestly was thinking about faking sickness just so I could get out of this conversation.

"Mr. Ash!" I heard Shane call my name, coming to my rescue. Despite what I may have said in the past, I loved this kid right now. "I have to show you something!"

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me away from Joey and dragged me through the crowds of people. I didn't know where he was taking me, but I was more than happy to get out of there. When we reached a group of tables, he slowed down, allowing me to catch up a bit. Looking over to where he was, I saw a girl sitting alone at one of the tables, looking like she was waiting for something. I came to abrupt halt a few feet away, taken aback by what I was seeing. I started to feel like Brock as I stared at her in her red dress, her chin on her hands looking bored. Regardless of her expression, she looked stunning.

When she turned around and spotted us, her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open a bit. She quickly covered her hand with her mouth, still looking blown away to see me. She must have been really star struck because nobody had given me this reaction before. I guess she was just a really big fan.

"Ash?" she asked, her voice wavering a bit. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the guest of honor," I explained to her. "I'm the one who'll be fighting the current Pokemon Master on Sunday."

"Surprise!" Shane shouted, throwing his hands in the air in celebration.

If his surprise was to introduce me to this really attractive girl, I wasn't complaining. Although, she didn't look too thrilled to see me.

The girl sighed, sounding sad. "I really appreciate what you're doing, Shane. But what's the purpose of this?" the girl asked him, frowning a bit.

"So you and Mr. Ash can make up, Miss Misty!"

Miss Misty? Holy shit…this was Misty? As I stared between her and Shane, I suddenly felt like she had just a few minutes ago. I couldn't believe she was here. I hadn't seen her in forever, and I missed her like crazy. She looked absolutely beautiful, making me wish I was still with her even more. When I had thought about what it would be like to see her again, I hadn't taken into account my feelings I still had for her to come swarming to the surface. I wanted more than anything to kiss her just like when I would return after being gone for so long. But I couldn't. She wasn't mine anymore.

"Shane," she frowned at him, "it's not that easy."

"But-but," he blubbered, confused as why it wasn't as easy as he thought. He looked like he was going to start crying any second.

"What's wrong, Shane?" Misty asked, her voice caring and mother like.

I had never really seen her when she was around Shane, but it was then that I realized how truly great she was with him. She would make a great mother one day, that much I knew. I just hoped that, if things worked out, I'd get to see her be a great mother everyday.

"Mr. Brock! He-he said that you-you and Mr. Ash are soul mates! You're supposed to get married and-and have kids for me to play with."

Great… this kid had apparently jumped on the "Ash and Misty Belong Together" bandwagon. Next he's going to start making bets with Brock and Gary about our relationship.

Misty just put her head in her hands, murmuring something about reminding her to kill Brock later. "Shane…"

"Hey, Shane," I said, pulling up a chair across from him. He looked up at me, his face stained with tears. How was it that one kid could be affected so much by my relationship with Misty? It just didn't make sense to me. I saw Misty peer at me through her fingers, curious as to what I was about to do next. "It's going to be okay, buddy. Miss Misty and I are adults. We can figure it out. We have to just wait a little bit until we can do that, but you really helped us out, you know that? If it weren't for you, Miss Misty and I would have never met up with each other tonight. So, thank you for that, and I promise you that Miss Misty and I will try our hardest to work things out. And if for some reason they don't work out like you may hope, just know that Miss Misty and I will be there if you ever need anything."

"You promise, Mr. Ash?" Despite the sad look on his face, there was still a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I promise," I told him, sticking out my pinky to seal it. He smiled at me before doing the same, wrapping his own pinky around mine.

After that, he said goodbye before running off, promising to return shortly. Unfortunately, though, with his departure came Misty and I being forced to be alone together.

"Well, well, well, Ashy boy. Finally going after your dream, I see?" Misty said very slyly. Turning around, I saw her with her arms folded and a small smirk on her face. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that the Misty I knew and loved was still there. "It's about darn well time."

"I was getting tired of waiting," I smirked right back. "I know I'm ready, though."

"I see."

An eerie silence fell between us as her smirk faded into a more relaxed look.

"You look amazing, Mist," I told her. Man did it feel great to use that nickname again. "It's great to see you. I've-I've missed you a lot."

She smiled one of her smiles that could always distract me from whatever I was doing. I would pay anything to have her back right now. "Me, too, Ash."

XXX

While walking around my hotel room, I heard a knock on my door that sounded urgent and impatient. Opening the door, I found Shane standing in the doorway with a huge poster board and permanent markers. Without even saying hello, he ran into my room and threw his things on the floor.

"Miss Misty, I need your help," he told me as he placed his poster board on the floor. "I don't know what to do!"

"What's your problem, Shane?" I asked, walking over to where he was now sitting on the floor.

"I want to make a poster for the match tomorrow, but I don't know who I should root for!" he cried. Hmm. This was quite the dilemma. "I love my dad, and I want him to win, but Mr. Ash is my hero, and I really want him to win, too."

I had never been in this position before, but I bet it was tough to choose between your father and your hero. I don't know how much help I would be.

"How about you make a poster for both of them?" I suggested.

"I only have one poster board, though."

"Maybe you could put both of their names on it. One half could say, Go Daddy, while the other can say, Go Mr. Ash."

At this his eyes lit up in excitement. "I knew you would know what to do," he smiled some more. "You're very smart, Miss Misty."

"Thank you," I replied. "Do you need help with your poster?"

"What's Mr. Ash's favorite color?"

Uh…What was Ash's favorite color? I honestly felt really bad for not knowing the answer to that question. I had to really think about this one.

"I think blue," I told him. I mean Ash always had worn a lot of blue. Then again, maybe it was red. Nah, I'll just stick with blue. "Anything else?"

"If Mr. Ash wins, what are you going to do, Miss Misty?"

While I thought about how to answer his question, I watched as he started writing a big G in blue permanent marker. Next he wrote an O, before moving the marker under the G and writing ASH. "I will give him a big hug and congratulate him on winning," I told him as he moved on to the second half of the poster. "After that, I don't know."

"You should marrying him," Shane told me.

"Shane, just because people say Mr. Ash and I are meant to be together doesn't mean it will work out that way," I told him.

"But Mr. Ash loves you Miss Misty. Just like my daddy loves my mommy." I had never heard Shane talk about his mother, so this came as quite a surprise for him to compare his parent's relationship with Ash and I's. "Mr. Ash makes you happy Miss Misty, and my daddy always said he married my mommy because she made him happy."

I honestly didn't know what to say to that. How was it that a seven year old could figure out what I had been trying to make sense of for years? He was right, too. Even though I had felt sad when Ash was gone, and hated having to wait for him to come back, I always seemed to feel happy. Happy because I knew I had someone who cared about me and could make me smile and laugh even on the crappiest of days. So how was it, that I missed such a simple yet important fact? My life with Ash didn't have to be ideal, but so long as I was happy with him, I think I'd be okay.

/

The next day was the big day he had been waiting for since he was ten years old. This was the chance for Ash to prove to himself and the world that he could do what he had set out to do those many years ago. The best part? I would get to be there to watch him and cheer him on. Mr. Mayer, knowing that Shane would want to sit near me, had kindly let me sit in the front row, giving me an amazing view. In addition to that, he had kindly let Ash's friends go and visit him in the locker room before the match. So, right after finding our seats, Shane and I headed over to the locker rooms to wish Ash one last good luck.

When we got there, Ms. Ketchum was hugging Ash, telling him how proud of him she was. Next to her, waiting patiently was Professor Oak, while Pikachu was sitting on Ash's head to avoid being squished. Before she let go and gave someone else a chance to talk to him, she told him that no matter what, everyday he was her hero. And I had to say, I agreed with that, and I think Shane did, too. All of his traveling companions were there from Tracey, who was sketching the scene in the corner, to Iris and Cilan. In addition to that, there were even some people that hadn't traveled with him such as Drew-dragged along by May- Casey-wanted to be there to cheer him on- and Melody. As I got closer, I overheard Melody telling Ash that, if he lost this, he would still at least be the chosen one. But that he had better not mess it up.

Before I went, I let Shane go ahead of me since I wanted to talk to Ash privately. I don't know why, but Gary and Brock had decided to stick around, probably trying to spy for the Ash and Misty Belong Together fan club.

"Mr. Ash!" Shane yelled, running up to Ash. "Can I have your autograph?"

I heard Brock and Gary snicker in the background as Shane pulled out a picture and a pen, handing them to Ash. I found myself laughing a bit, finding it extremely adorable. When Ash signed the picture for Shane, he thanked him and wished him good luck before running over to show me his newly acquired autograph.

"Look," he instructed me, pointing to the part on the picture where Ash had signed it. The picture was the one I had taken the other day at the dinner after Shane had ran back with a camera and demanded we take a picture with him. So, to the best of our ability, we scrunched our faces into the frame-Shane stuck in the middle-and snapped a picture. After taking one, he had made us take a funny picture with him, which unfortunately, was the one he had chosen.

In the picture, Shane was sticking out his tongue, while Ash tried to look confused (wasn't that hard for him) and I puffed out my cheeks, trying to imitate Jigglypuff. In the right corner of the picture, in his sloppy handwriting, he had written, ASH.

After that, Shane told me that he would meet me at our seats as he left the room, escorted by Brock and Gary. I watched them leave, walking through the door as they talked about Shane's autograph.

"Hey," I called, turning around to face him. "How are you doing?"

"Freaked out." Ash Ketchum nervous? I would have never suspected that. He had done a really good job of hiding it. Walking over, I sat down next to him on the bench.

"Ash, you'll be okay," I assured him, wrapping my hand around his."You'll be great."

"Thanks," he replied, but he didn't sound so convinced. Pikachu, sensing his nerves, patted Ash on the shoulder with his little paw. "Thanks, Pikachu."

Just then, I heard the bell, warning me that we only had five minutes left until the match started. "I have to go," I told him. When I stood up, I found myself continuing to hold onto his hand. Maybe it was the fear of not knowing what would happen after this, or worry for him and how he would do. "Good luck, Ash."

/

"Welcome ladies and gentleman to the today's match. Today we will find out if we will be crowning a new Pokemon Master or if we will be celebrating another victory for current champion. I ask that you refrain from taking any pictures or video, as this could harm the Pokemon. Now for our contestants."

At this point, the crowd started going crazy, some of them starting to chant Jake, which was Mr. Mayer's first name. Also at this time, Shane held up his sign that he had spent most of the afternoon yesterday creating.

"In the red corner, we have our current champion, Mr. Jake Mayer!"

Like he had done this many times before, Mr. Mayer walked into the arena, waving to the crowds of people. When he reached the platform he would be standing on, he turned and waved to Shane and I, chuckling a bit at Shane's sign. I wonder how he felt knowing that his son was also cheering for his opponent.

"And in the blue corner, we have his opponent, Mr. Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Standing up, I cheered as loud as I could, trying to rival the cheers for Mr. Mayer. I almost got pretty close, too, because in one of the corners near Ash's side, there was Ash's friends and family standing up and holding posters and banners, cheering for him.

Out of the tunnel emerged Ash with his loyal Pikachu on his shoulder. Being unsure of how to address the crowd, he waved really quickly before running over to his platform.

"This will be a six on six battle, no time limit. Competitors ready?" Ash and Mr. Mayer nodded their heads as the ref took the sidelines. "Alright folks. Ready? Set? Begin the match!"

/

"I don't believe it folks! It appears as if we have a new champion! Ash Ketchum from Pallet has defeated the Pokemon Master!"

The whole crowd screamed and yelled in celebration. Cupping my hands over my mouth, I cheered as loud as I could, throwing in a few whistles. As I looked over toward Ash, he had a look of pure shock on his face. While everyone around him screamed and cheered, he looked like he was frozen in time, as if everything was moving in slow motion for him. The red and blue confetti began raining down, blocking my view of him. After that, Mr. Mayer and Ash shook hands and, after that, they started letting people swarm the field.

Grabbing Shane's hand, I led him threw the crowds of people to try and find Ash or any of my friends. I figured he'd probably be toward the center so I headed there, pushing people out of my way, not really caring if they got mad.

XXX

The crowd swarmed around me like a pack of Beedrill, while the confetti littered the floor, blocking my view. I had to find her, but I didn't even know where to start. Pikachu, freaked out by all the sudden hysteria, climbed to the top of my head, trying to get as far as he could away from it all. I didn't blame him either. There were so many people congratulating me, most of them people I'd never even seen in my life.

"Ash!" I heard someone yell my name. Turning around, I was disappointed when it wasn't her but Brock and May. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," I replied. "Have you seen Misty?"

They shook their head, while I glanced around once more to see if I could spot her. You'd think with as bright as hair as she had that I would be able to spot her in a crowd.

XXX

"Shane, I'm going to put you on my shoulders. If you see Ash, tell me where to go," I told Shane as I picked him up and hoisted him on my shoulders.

We walked around a bit, trying to see if we could spot him or anyone that might know where he would be.

"THERE!" I heard Shane yell over the crowd of people. Looking up, I saw he was pointing to the left. "PIKACHU'S ON HIS HEAD!"

XXX

Followed by Brock was my mom-who crushed me in a hug-Gary, Tracey, and Professor Oak. Like everyone else, they congratulated me, telling me how proud of me they were. And just like Brock and May, they had no idea where Misty was or even where I might find her.

"ASH!" I heard someone else yell. Turning toward the voice, I saw Misty pushing her way through the crowd with Shane on her shoulders. It took her a while to reach me, but she finally did. Setting Shane down, she wasted no time in crushing me in a hug. "Finally!"

When she finally let me go, she looked at me with a huge smile on her face. Then she did something I would never expect from Misty of all people. She grabbed my hands and started jumping up and down like a peppy person.

"You did it! You did it! You did it!" she cheered. I just watched her in amazement; a little frightened by the Misty I was seeing. She suddenly stopped and frowned at me. "Why aren't you cheering with me?"

"Oh, sorry." She smiled again before jumping up and down, cheering in celebration as I attempted to jump along with her. I felt like a complete idiot doing this, but oh well. It made her happy. That's when I got an idea. "Follow me."

Shoving Pikachu into Shane's hands, I grabbed her hand and dragged her away with me, ignoring the cries from the people around me about me suddenly leaving. When I reached the other end, I pulled her through the doors and into the locker room. When the door swung behind us, I locked it before letting go of her hand. This way we could talk without being bothered.

She glanced at the locked door before smirking at me, indicating she was plotting something inside her head. Without any warning, she grabbed my shirt and pulling me closer to her, where she wasted no time in kissing me. And without anything having to be said, I knew that everything was going to be okay. I got her back after waiting three years, and if I played my cards right, I'd have her forever. I'm sure Shane would be really happy with that.

The End

Thank you to all the have reviewed and read this story! I'm sorry there was no epic Pokemon battle. I am terrible at writing them, so I thought I would spare you from my lame battle writing. I hope you enjoyed the story. Reviews are appreciated as always.