Misty,

            I'm writing this a couple hours before seeing you. I guess it'll be kind of pointless to send it... but now I'm in the habit or writing back to you right away and I'm bored. No one's around to battle and we're sitting at the Pokemon Center nearest the blimp station, waiting for your blimp to arrive.

            Hurry up already, will you?

            Yeah, I know. Patience is a virtue. A couple more hours till you're here.

            It'll be so nice to see you and Togepi. Pikachu is so excited- he won't sit still. He keeps looking out the window thinking your blimp will come early.

                Ash

I put down my pencil and got up for the tenth time in the past half hour, staring out the window where Pikachu sat, perched so he could stare up at the sky.

                "I keep telling you, her blimp doesn't come for another couple hours. She won't be here yet." I let my voice trail off as I squinted at a dark blue shape moving swiftly across the sky- just a Taillow. I frowned, then stared at Pikachu who I knew was saying, "You're the one who keeps pacing and looking out the window."

                I sighed. This was going to be a long three hours. Max, May, and Brock were all in the Pokemon Center lounge, talking, while I sat here attempting to write a letter to Misty to pass the time. We were ten minutes away from the blimp airport, so I had a lot of time to kill before we headed out.

                I didn't really get much sleep the night before. We'd done a full day of walking yesterday, but my eyes hadn't wanted to close and I'd been up for hours, just thinking about past memories of Misty and what it would be like to see her again.

                My stomach felt weird. It wasn't full and it wasn't hungry. Those were usually the only feelings I ever experienced when it came to my stomach, so I had no idea what the weird fluttery feeling meant.

                I patted Pikachu on the head and returned to my seat, hitting the pencil against the wooden desk before continuing my letter.

                I keep telling Pikachu that you'll get here when you get here, but he's stubborn. I wonder where he gets it from.

            So yeah, we're all excited for you to get here. May has been asking millions of questions about you, like what your birthstone is and weird stuff, which I know you probably don't even care about. I told her I had no idea and I got a speech about how I should know simple things like that. I told her your favorite color was turquoise, but she didn't think that was good enough of an apology.

            She also asked if you had a favorite kind of makeup and I told her you looked great in Team Rocket makeup. She hadn't known what I'd meant, but I know you do and I'm sure you're not happy with me right now. I guess I should stop clowning around. (Clowning around. Get it?) You didn't actually bring that mallet, did you? I hope not. I always hated that thing.

            Max can't wait to meet your Pokemon. I'm sure he'll love Psyduck. I hope you're bringing him. You better have, Misty. I miss that little guy. Remember that time you thought he'd evolved into a Golduck, but it ended up being one that lived on the beach and just liked showing off for girls? I still laugh about that all the time.

            I guess I'll start replying to things you said in your letter now. No, I didn't break any mirrors. I'm not that unlucky. Just watch, we'll get through this weekend unscathed! I'll prove I'm an awesome Trainer AND capable of staying out of trouble.

            And wow, Misty. You really had to Hyper Beam me on that idiot thing, huh? Now you have to recharge, so I'll cross my fingers that you don't attack me again in the next letter. Maybe you'll be too sore from hitting me this weekend that you won't reply for awhile. I still have no idea how you can lift that mallet. It must weigh as much as you do.

            And what do you mean by May might "hit me a different way"??? That makes no sense. And yeah, she's super girly. It took awhile to get used to, but now we get along fine.

            Of course I made you laugh. It's not like I'm not ever funny. I'm sure today we'll all be laughing at inside jokes and sharing old stories... I really can't wait. Seriously, the time is passing so slowly you'd think a Pokemon had used a Scary Face attack on the clock or something.

            I guess I'll give you this letter in person. Why not? Maybe replying to it will give you something to do on the blimp to distract you from the memories of us locked in a cage together. I mean... really, who would want to remember that?

            -Ash

            PS- You know, for someone who doesn't miss me you sure are trying awfully hard to convince me. If I was really that horrible and you really did hate my guts when we first met, you would've left me alone after five minutes, bike or no bike... But you didn't.

                I put the pencil down, rereading everything about three times. I still had no idea what Misty had meant by May hitting me in a different way, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to ask her in person or not. I guess I'd just see how I felt when we saw her again.

                I felt my stomach lurch unpleasantly for the millionth time this morning and looked at the clock- two and a half hours left. I got up and went to stand next to Pikachu again, who's ears quirked when I scratched the top of his head.

                The sky was empty.

                "Ready to see Misty, Pikachu?"

                He nodded.

                I paused, "Don't tell her, but I really do miss her and I still don't think she's really coming. Seems too good to be true, you know?"

                Pikachu glanced up at me, frowning.

                "What? Think I should tell her how much I miss her?" I frowned in return.

                He rolled his eyes and nodded.

                "....I'm not sure if she misses me or not." I said quietly, thinking of her letter. The quote "...I DON'T miss you." jumped out at me.

                Pikachu motioned for me to come closer and I leaned forward. He sniffed at my right pocket, burying his face in it for a moment before pulling a pink handkerchief out of it gently with his teeth. I held out my hand to take it, letting the soft fabric run through my fingers.

                It was the handkerchief Misty had given me the day we went different ways. I'd kept it in my pocket ever since she'd given it to me.

                 I nodded to Pikachu, "You're right. She does miss me as much as I miss her. I should let her know that before she leaves."

                I looked back at the stack of papers on the desk- most were the letters Misty had already sent to me, which I'd kept, and there was a hefty stack of fresh, clean paper to write on. The clock seemed to have come to a standstill, so I decided to write another letter to Misty. I placed her handkerchief next to the piece of clean paper, my eyes softening as they moved over it. I began writing:

                Misty,

            I know I already wrote you a letter, but I just want to say a couple of things just in case we don't have to time when you're here or all heck breaks loose. I promised I'd be good and less chaotic than usual, but you know me. Crazy things tend to happen around me (So seriously, don't say my life's boring anymore. Who's the guy who's saved the world? This one.)

            First off, I wanted to say that your letters make my day. Sure, Pokemon battling is awesome, and Brock's cooking, and saving the world is fun to brag about, but your letters are always fun to read and remind me of home.

            You know, Kanto. And all the traveling around we did together there.

            Secondly I wanted to say that this Togepi Convention better not be a prank. You lie to me sometimes. I know you do. Like about missing me- I know you miss me. I bet you love opening my letters and rereading them and smile every time.

            Thirdly, I want you to know that I miss you too. Visit more often, ok?

            -Ash

                I pushed the piece of paper away, ignoring the words on the page. They were absolutely true, but if I read them again I know I'd tear the piece of paper up and throw it in the trashcan. I'd never said something like that to Misty before, involving feelings like this, and I wasn't sure how she'd react.

                Forcing my mind to shut down so it wouldn't tell me to stop what I was doing, I folded the paper (the first reply in front of the new letter, which I wanted her to read last) carefully before placing it in an envelope and making sure it was shut tightly. I wrote "Misty" on the front and put it in my backpack, zipping it carefully.

                There. My fate was sealed.

                I looked up at the clock- two hours left. Two hours too many.

                "Pikachu, let's go out to the lounge and wait there. The anxiety is killing me." I held my arm out and Pikachu climbed up it to my shoulder, licking my ear.

                I picked up my backpack, stuffed my hands into my pockets, and walked out of the room, hoping that talking to Brock, Max, and May would be a good enough distraction.

                I highly doubted it.

Hey Pokeshippers,

So, I know I don't update much. I'd seriously appreciate if people stopped asking. I know it's a compliment, but this story isn't my priority. Let's face it Pokeshippers- Ash and Misty belong together. The only girl who shows interest in Ash that I could even foresee him being with is Serena, but he hasn't shown any interest to her whatsoever and I've practically vowed to ship Ash with Misty forever. Ash and Misty have the most hints that both of them like each other so I'm sticking with this ship, even if I don't update about it all the time. They're my favorite Pokemon ship despite not writing often about them, but it's because it's the most obvious. Ikarishipping is way more fun to write about because Paul and Dawn can help each other grow. Ash and Misty balance each other nicely and as much fun as it is to read about them getting together, it's obvious. So try to control your fangirling/fanboying because it would so happen in the Pokemon world. So no need to be obsessed with my story. Though I'm flattered :)

Hope you liked it! If you're an old school Trainer like me, you've seen the episodes about the Togepi Convention. If not, that's pretty important to the story, though I'm going to be changing a few things about it and trying to wrap this story up despite how much people like it. I'd rather people be satisfied and not asking for more even if it's not "complete" complete. It's better than waiting years for updates.

Thanks for reading!

-Flips