" ASH KETCHUM WAKE UP!"

Ash groaned and turned in bed. " Misty.... I'm trying to sleep."

" You can sleep later because right now we have a presentation in professor Rowan's classroom."

Ash let out a snore.

Misty grabbed her hammer and bonked it on some gong she carried with her. " Time to wake UP!"

" Wahwahwahwah!" Ash screamed, plugging his ears

Ash bolted upright, his hair sticking out in wild directions. "What the heck, Misty?! Why do you even have a gong?!"

Misty stood triumphantly, hands on her hips. "Emergency situations call for emergency tools."

Ash blinked groggily. "This is an emergency?"

"Yes! You overslept, and we have to give a presentation on Pokémon habitats in Sinnoh." She narrowed her eyes. "I reminded you three times last night!"

Ash flopped back down on the bed, pulling the blanket over his head. "Can't you do it without me?"

Misty yanked the blanket off. "Nope. You promised to cover the part about Pikachu and other Electric-types."

Ash rubbed his eyes. "Fine, but I need five more minutes."

Misty raised the gong threateningly. "Say that again, Ketchum. I dare you."

Ash shot out of bed, waving his hands frantically. "Nope, nope, I'm up! See? Fully awake!"

Pikachu, who had been curled up at the foot of the bed, stretched and yawned. "Pikaaaa..."

Ash grabbed a shirt and his hat, muttering under his breath, "One day that gong is gonna disappear mysteriously."

Misty smirked. "Good luck with that."

Ten minutes later, they were sprinting through the hallways of Professor Rowan's research center, Ash still struggling to put his jacket on.

"You sure we aren't late?" Ash asked, panting.

"Positive," Misty replied.

They burst into the classroom, where Professor Rowan, Dawn, Gary, Brock, and a room full of campers were already seated.

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Glad you could finally join us."

Ash sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Uh... overslept?"

Misty nudged him with her elbow. "More like 'nearly got gonged to oblivion.'"

Rowan blinked. "I don't think I want to know."

"Trust me," Brock whispered to Dawn, "none of us do."

Ash cleared his throat, standing beside Misty at the front of the classroom. "So, uh, Pikachu and other Electric-types thrive in environments with lots of electrical storms or places where they can generate static electricity."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered from Ash's shoulder.

Misty gestured to a slide showing water Pokémon swimming peacefully in a serene lake. "And Water Pokémon need clean, fresh water environments or sometimes salty oceans to survive. Like my Gyarados—"

"That you constantly yell at," Ash interrupted with a smirk.

Misty's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ash grinned. "You can't even control your own Pokémon without going full Gyarados yourself."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Mr. 'Pikachu Fry Me Whenever He Wants'!" Misty snapped.

Pikachu blinked innocently. "Pika?"

The campers watched with wide eyes, while Gary muttered under his breath, "Here we go..."

Professor Rowan cleared his throat, trying to redirect the conversation. "Perhaps we should focus on—"

But it was too late.

"You know what your problem is, Ash?" Misty fumed. "You think you're always right!"

"Me?! You're the one who thinks you're the boss of everything!"

"Because someone has to be the responsible one!"

"Yeah, well, maybe you'd be less cranky if you actually relaxed once in a while!"

"Relax? With you around? Impossible!"

"At least I don't scream at Caterpie like it's some kind of monster!"

"That's it!" Misty huffed, rolling up her sleeves.

Before she could launch into a full tirade, Ash's Pokégear buzzed loudly.

"Hold that thought," Ash muttered, pulling it out. The screen displayed Daisy's face, her expression frantic.

"Daisy?" Misty asked, her brow furrowing. "What's going on?"

"Like, Misty, it's a total disaster!" Daisy wailed.

Ash and Misty exchanged a glance. "What happened?"

"The gym flooded!" Daisy cried.

Silence fell over the room.

"WHAT?!" Ash and Misty screamed in unison, their voices echoing through the building.

Rowan winced. "Goodness..."

"The pipes burst or something!" Daisy explained, waving her arms dramatically. "The water's, like, everywhere! All the Pokémon are swimming around in the lobby, and Violet tried to surf on Seadra, but it didn't work out!"

Misty's face turned pale. "How—why—what were you doing with the pipes?!"

"Nothing!" Daisy insisted. "It just, like, exploded or something. Lily tried to stop it, but she accidentally made it worse by breaking the main valve."

Misty facepalmed. "Oh my Arceus... I'm coming back right now!"

Ash crossed his arms. "Your gym is my gym too, Misty. I'm coming with you."

"Fine," Misty huffed.

Gary whispered to Brock, "Bet they'll be arguing the whole way back."

Brock sighed. "That's a safe bet."

Misty pointed at Ash. "And for the record, you're paying for the repairs since you claim it's your gym too!"

"Why me?! It's your responsibility!"

"It's our gym, isn't it?!"

"Fine, but you have to handle the paperwork!"

"Deal!"

With that, they stormed out of the room, still bickering.

Rowan shook his head, addressing the stunned campers. "Well, that was... educational in its own way."

Gary sipped his coffee. "Welcome to the Ash and Misty show."

Ash and Misty stormed into the Cerulean Gym, water sloshing around their feet as chaos unfolded before them. Pokémon swam aimlessly through the flooded arena, and Daisy stood on a floating pool toy, waving dramatically. Lily and Violet were frantically trying to use buckets to scoop out water — with very little success.

But none of that mattered to Ash and Misty.

"You should've called a plumber the second this started!" Ash yelled, water splashing around his ankles.

Misty threw her hands in the air. "Oh, like you would've handled it better?! You probably would've electrocuted the whole gym with Pikachu!"

"At least I'd actually fix the problem instead of yelling at everyone!"

"I’m not yelling—okay, I AM yelling, but this is a crisis, Ketchum!"

"Yeah, and you're making it worse by freaking out!"

Their voices echoed through the gym, louder than the rushing water. Daisy, still floating on her pool toy, cringed. "Like, can you guys not?"

Ash pointed at Daisy. "This is YOUR fault too! How did you let this happen?"

"Don't blame her!" Misty snapped. "You're the one who insists on taking part ownership of my gym!"

"Our gym, Misty! You made that pretty clear when you dragged me into the repairs last time!"

The gym echoed with their shouting, and Violet muttered to Lily, "They're, like, worse than Gyarados and Seadra fighting."

"Totally," Lily agreed.

Ash splashed through the water, jabbing a finger toward the broken pipes. "We need to shut off the main valve!"

"Then go do it instead of arguing with me!" Misty shot back.

"Fine, I will!"

"Good!"

Ash stomped toward the control room, water sloshing around him, while Misty grabbed Daisy by the arm. "Help me move the Pokémon to the back tank!"

"Like, whatever you say, Bossy McBossface," Daisy muttered, paddling after her sister.

As Ash reached the valve, he grumbled under his breath. "Girls are impossible."

Meanwhile, Misty was wrangling Gyarados into a tank. "Boys are the worst."

Despite their bickering, they both worked furiously, determined to save the gym.

And as chaotic as it was, one thing was certain: Ash and Misty made a pretty good team — even if they spent half the time yelling at each other.