"To protect the world from devastation!" 

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" 

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" 

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" 

"Jessie!" 

"James!' 

"Oh, good!" Ash exclaimed, "I've been waiting for this!' 

Jessie's eyebrow twitched down in annoyance, "You're interrupting our motto, twerp!" 

James crossed his arms, "And since when are you happy to see us, anyway!?" 

Misty took a long piece of paper out of her bag and unfolded it cheerfully. 

"What's dat she's got?" Meowth asked, pointing a clawed paw at Misty. 

"It might be a warrant for our arrest! Maybe they're working for Officer Jenny!" James yelled, sounding extremely paranoid. 

"As if they could catch us!" Jessie scoffed. 

Misty and Ash put their heads close together, looking at the piece of paper and whispering to each other, not paying any attention at all to the accusations being hurled at them. 

"What are you DOING!?" Team Rocket roared together. 

Finally, Misty and Ash looked up. 

Misty said, "Oh. Well, since your little routine has gotten so repetitive and boring, Ash and I are having a competition." 

"Repetitive!?" Meowth gaped. 

"Boring!?" Jessie shouted. 

"Competition?" James frowned. 

"Yeah." Ash nodded, "The past 100 times you've shown up, we've been marking whose Pokemon have blasted you away. Right now, we're tied, so whoever blasts you away this time wins before we start over." 

"Oooh, what's the prize!" James rubbed his hands together, "Is it rare limited edition Snapple my Apple bottle cap from 1973!?" 

"I was hopin' it'd be da biggest ball of yarn ever made!" Meowth's eyes gleamed. 

"You idiots!" Jessie screeched, "First off, those prizes are stupid and anyone in their right mind would want a full week of spa treatments at the finest hotel Kanto has to offer! Secondly, they're talking about attacking us and you idiots are busy dreaming away about a prize that neither of you are even qualified to win!" 

"Ouch, Jessie. We have feelings, you know." James frowned. 

Meowth rolled his eyes, "I never knew dat. The cat's outta da bag now..." 

"Stop blithering like nitwits!" 

Ash and Misty, at this point, were staring at each other. 

"Who in the world would want a bottle cap for a prize?" Ash whispered. 

"Or yarn... that's definitely not a part of what I want when I win." 

"Oh yeah?" Ash grinned, "Who says you're the one who's going to win?" 

"I do! And I am!" Misty winked playfully. 

"On the count of three we'll start?" 

"Sure. One..." 

"Two..." 

"Three!" 

Misty called out her Staryu and Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder. Team Rocket wasn't paying any attention- they were now arguing about... well, it was going all over the place. 

"Jessie, why don't you calm down so we can work out a plan of action!" James yelled. 

"I've got a plan of action! Here it is!" She smacked him over the top of the head. 

"Eeeee! That hurt!" 

"Will you two just quit it already!" Meowth slashed them both across the face with a Scratch attack. The two humans cried out, picked up Meowth, and strangled him before throwing the Pokemon roughly onto the ground. 

"Hey! I need to use dat throat later. Me-OWth!" Meowth coughed. 

"For what? Eating tacos?" Jessie laughed. 

"Oooh, that sounds good right now. Especially with some guacamole." James said gleefully. 

"Hey, losers!" Misty yelled over them, annoyed. 

They all turned and looked at her. Jessie shouted, "What'd you just call us!?" 

Ash was grinning- it was always wonderful for him to watch Misty torment someone other than himself. 

"We're trying to settle a bet here. We've been waiting awhile, so hurry up and finish your bickering so we can get rid of you and finally settle our contest." 

Jessie growled, "Who are you to tell me what to do!? Arbok, go teach that scrawny brat a lesson!" 

She threw a Poke Ball into the air and Arbok appeared, coiling its huge purple body on the ground. 

"You too, Weezing!" James sent out his floating Poison Pokemon. 

Misty and Ash nodded to each other- let the competition begin! 

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" 

"Staryu, Tackle attack!" 

Pikachu hurled himself at Weezing, smacking into his foe's purple body which spun in the air before Weezing could stop himself.  

Staryu rammed into Arbok, but Jessie ordered a Wrap attack and, at the last possible second, Arbok's tail caught on one of Staryu's points. 

"Now slam it into the dirt where it belongs!" Jessie screamed. 

Arbok jumped ten feet into the air and hurled Staryu at the ground. 

"Water Gun, shoot it straight down!" Misty yelled. 

Staryu obeyed and instead of its body meeting the cold, unforgiving ground, the pressure of the water forced it to shoot up and hit Arbok again who went soaring into the air until it collapsed, struggling to get up. 

"Yeah!" Misty jumped in the air. 

James gritted his teeth, "Weezing use Sludge!" 

The poisonous muck flew at Pikachu, but he dodged it. 

"Use Smokescreen so they can't see!" 

"Oh no you don't!" Misty said, "Staryu, aim a Water Gun at Weezing's mouth!" 

As Weezing opened his mouth to begin his attack, Staryu's Water Gun forced him to close it to avoid choking and floated to the left to dodge the rest of the attack. 

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Arbok!" 

"Keep using Water Gun on Weezing, Staryu!" 

"Chuuuu!" Pikachu's attack hit directly. Both Arbok and Weezing flew into their Trainers, knocking them backwards onto their rears. Meowth had gotten tangled in the mess, his tail hanging precariously close to Arbok's gaping mouth. 

"Hah!" Ash laughed, "I've got this in the bag!" 

"You're dead wrong." Misty smiled. 

"No way! Pikachu, use-" But Ash stopped abruptly and looked down at his hand. Misty had entwined her fingers along his, squeezing gently. After a long second of staring in awe and bewilderment, he looked up, mouth open, at her smiling at him. 

Shrill screaming interrupted his confusion- right then, Staryu had sent off a powerful Water Gun, blasting the troublemakers into the sky until the disappeared out of sight. 

Ash frowned, staring up at the sky with a dazed sense of regret, "You cheated." 

Pikachu was sitting on the ground, face palming himself. 

Misty swung their joined hands back and forth and smiled all too innocently, "This wasn't against the rules." 

"This is still cheating." Ash said sourly, but tightened his grip on her hand despite how upset her was over losing. He felt extremely manipulated. 

"You've always been such a sore loser." She laughed, "...Time to open the envelope and find out what we wrote?" 

"...Yeah." Ash said quietly. 

Right when the competition had started, they'd made a bet. Whoever won would have the other do whatever they wanted- one task, favor.... basically anything they were capable of doing that didn't cost too much money. They'd both agreed to the terms, both sure they'd win, and had written down their terms if they won on slips of paper, placing them in what they called the "Winner's Envelope". Misty had kept it in her bag along with the score board.  

She went over to retrieve it from her red bag. Ash's heart hammered- he was scared of what she'd make him do. He didn't really feel like dressing up like a girl or running through a town naked. Ash was also scared, practically terrified, about her reading what he'd wanted- now it felt silly, stupid, to write it down... to voice what he had on that tiny slip of paper. But when he'd stared at that little piece of black paper when they'd been filling it out, nothing else had come to mind and nothing had felt truly right to request or state. At least, nothing important... 

Misty stood up and took a deep breath, the red envelope in her hand, still sealed. 

Her eyes lingered on Ash's, "Ready?" 

He nodded stiffly. 

She gently tore the seal and opened the envelope's lid, taking two folded pieces of paper in her fingers. One said "If Misty wins" on it with tidy handwriting, the other "If Ash wins" in an untidy sprawl. Misty handed the one she'd written to Ash, which he held unopened with slick fingers. 

"On the count of three?" Misty asked quietly. 

"One..." 

"Two." 

"Three." 

Ash opened the small piece of paper, his eyes scanning the text, "If I win, I want you to close your eyes." 

He groaned- she was going to hit him. He'd be a sitting Psyduck target, unable to defend himself. Maybe she'd stand there all day, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, forcing him to stand and wait in fear. Why had he placed that fake Caterpie inside her sleeping bag!? Why!? 

Ash smoothly slipped the note into his pocket and stared at Misty, his cheeks burning, because she was staring right back at him with a look of knowing. She'd read his slip of paper and, Ash thought numbly, maybe that made her want to hit him harder. 

"Ok, Ash. Ready?" Misty asked solemnly. There was a hint of something in her eyes, but he couldn't tell what. 

Ash's face wasn't sure whether to turn red with embarrassment or white from fear. Sighing, he took his cap off his head and held it tightly in his left hand, not wanting her to ruin his prized possession when she decided to attack, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."  

"Now close your eyes." Misty said quietly. 

She's just trying to throw me off guard with her calm tone, Ash thought, I can read her like a book... not that I've read many of those. 

Reluctantly, with one last glance into Misty's blue eyes, he closed his own. 

He didn't hear any movement or feel anything in the first few seconds, but his nerves were on end. Ash took a deep breath, filling his lungs, then let it out, trying to calm himself. 

Any second now, the punch would come, his stomach would burn or his arm would throb or his face would tingle unpleasantly with pain. 

Right when Ash thought his dread and anxiousness couldn't get any higher, something soft pressed against his lips. He stood still, completely thrown off guard. A few seconds passed before he realized what was happening- Misty was kissing him. 

Ash was not getting punched in the abdomen or pushed over or thrown to the ground- he was being kissed. 

It definitely was the last attack he had expected. 

Still, just to make sure he wasn't being tricked, he opened his eyes just enough to make out Misty's undeniable red hair. 

Now feeling sure of himself, Ash closed the distance between him and Misty, dropping his hat in the process, pulling her into an embrace that was so much more intimate than he'd had with anyone else ever before. 

Their kiss deepened and Ash did feel his stomach burn and his arms throb and his face tingle, but not because of pain. His stomach burned with longing. Misty's hands were gripping his arms and her hair was tickling his face, causing him to smile as he continued kissing her. 

And Misty kissed him back, feeling absolutely lighthearted and happy and wonderful as she traced his skin with her fingers, pulled her arms around his neck, and wove her fingers through his hair. 

It was odd, this kiss. In it, so many memories and years together had woven together into something that was so much stronger than friendship. It was a mix of perseverance, loyalty, and remembrance of each other through their lives that made the moment so much sweeter. 

Minutes passed and they stayed locked together. The moment was long awaited by the two and they cherished every second, every touch, every new sensation that poured into them. 

Misty broke away, gasping, staring at Ash with wonder. He was smiling back at her dopily, breathing just as hard. 

"Wow." He said quietly. 

Misty nodded, seeming speechless, her side ponytail bobbing.  

He didn't really have anything else to say except maybe another 'wow', so he stayed quiet and traced the skin on her cheek instead, marveling at the texture. Misty grabbed his hand and held it in place, not minding that they felt rough because they were so gentle and full of warmth. 

"...I thought you were going to hit me." Ash said, still feeling like he was dreaming. Maybe he was. Maybe he was still waiting with his eyes closed, hoping he'd be kissed instead of punched in the face. 

"Nah." Misty smiled, "That wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying." 

Ash chuckled, feeling like everything was ten times funnier now than it had been before the kiss. Really, he felt different. Like he was a new person. Maybe with the same goals... but his feelings were now heightened and, not that Ash found it possible, his feelings for Misty had increased. 

"So... about what you wrote down..." Misty said, looking amused. She held out the slip, dangling it in front of his face. 

Ash's huge grin faltered. 

"What'd you mean?" Misty asked. 

Ash stared into her eyes a little uncertainly, "I wasn't really sure. I didn't want anything from you... I just wanted you and that's not something that a Pokemon battle or blowing up Team Rocket can decide, can it?" 

Misty took his hand in hers and squeezed, "No, it's not." 

"So tell me... what can?" Ash asked. 

"Another kiss, maybe." Misty smiled. 

"I don't know, Misty. That might be breaking the rules." Ash teased. 

Misty rolled her eyes playfully, "Well, I don't mind." 

"Me either." Ash agreed before kissing her again. 

As Misty wrapped her arms around Ash, the piece of paper with the untidy handwriting flitted to the ground, landing face up so the world could see. "If I win, I choose you."