"Charizard, easy! You're going too high!" Ash yelled, gripping Misty tightly as Charizard soared through the air with a wobble.

"Too high?! It's going upside down!" Misty screeched, clutching Ash’s waist as Charizard attempted a shaky barrel roll.

"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu clung to Ash’s shoulder, its cheeks sparking in panic.

Ash glanced over the lizard's head to look at Charizard. "Buddy, I know this is your first time carrying passengers, but you need to keep steady! Misty’s leg is hurt!"

Charizard let out a frustrated growl, attempting to adjust mid-flight. Instead, it tilted to one side, sending Ash and Misty sliding to the edge of its back.

"CHARIZARD!" Misty screamed, gripping Ash’s arm for dear life.

"Hang on!" Ash shouted, patting Charizard’s neck. "Just land already!"

Charizard snorted, flapping its massive wings with a dramatic flourish before crash-landing in front of the clinic, sending dust and leaves flying everywhere.

Misty coughed, shakily sliding off Charizard’s back. "Next time, we’re calling Nurse Joy to walk me to the clinic!"

"Pika pika..." Pikachu muttered, its fur ruffled from the bumpy ride.

Ash hopped down, patting Charizard’s head. "Good job, buddy. Kinda. At least we made it in one piece."

Charizard huffed, puffing a small jet of smoke in Ash’s face.

Misty limped toward the clinic doors, muttering under her breath. "Unnecessary, I said. This whole thing was unnecessary..."

Ash ran to catch up. "Misty, I told you, your leg’s swelling up like a balloon. You can’t just ignore it!"

She turned to glare at him. "It’s just a little bruise! I don’t need to be dragged here on a reckless flying lizard!"

Ash crossed his arms. "You fell pretty hard the other day. What if it’s serious? You’re not a Pokémon, Misty—you can’t just shake it off!"

Misty rolled her eyes but didn’t argue as they stepped inside the clinic.

The nurse at the front desk smiled at them. "Oh my, what happened here?"

"She fell the other day," Ash explained quickly, pointing at Misty’s leg. "It’s been swelling, so we thought we’d check it out."

Misty shot him a look. "He thought we should check it out."

The nurse nodded. "Good thinking. Come this way, dear."

As Misty limped after the nurse, Ash sat down in the waiting area with Pikachu.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, tilting its head.

Ash leaned back in his chair. "What? She’s my best friend. Of course I’m gonna worry about her."

From the examination room, Misty called out, "I can hear you, Ash!"

Ash grinned sheepishly. "Just saying!"

" Sir? Could you please come in and calm your girlfriend down?*

Ash blinked as the doctor called him over. "Wait, Misty’s freaking out? Why?"

The doctor sighed. "She’s refusing to let us examine her leg. Something about 'not trusting people who wear gloves all day.' Could you... help calm her down? She keeps trying to limp out the door."

Ash groaned, standing up. "Fine. I’ll handle it." He shot Pikachu a look. "Stay here and don’t cause trouble."

"Pika," Pikachu said with a mock salute.

Ash walked into the examination room, where Misty was sitting on the table, arms crossed, glaring at the doctor.

"Misty, what’s the problem now?" Ash asked, exasperated.

She turned her glare on him. "The problem is I don’t need this! My leg is fine!"

Ash pointed at her obviously swollen ankle. "Your leg looks like a Snorlax sat on it, Misty! Let them look at it!"

"I don’t need you to tell me what I need!" she shot back.

"Well, apparently you do, because you can’t even walk without limping!"

"Excuse me for not wanting to be poked and prodded like some kind of Pokémon!"

Ash threw his hands in the air. "Oh, so you’d rather just let your leg fall off? Great plan, Misty!"

The doctor, clearly uncomfortable, tried to interject. "Uh, maybe we can—"

"Stay out of this!" they both shouted in unison, making the poor man step back.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Brock stormed in, panting. "You two are so loud I could hear you from Pewter City! What is going on?"

Ash and Misty both turned to him, pointing at each other. "It’s-

" His!"

" Her!"

"- fault!"

Brock sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course it is. Look, can’t you two just stop arguing for five minutes? What’s the problem this time?"

Ash crossed his arms. "She won’t let the doctor check her leg, even though it’s obviously injured."

Misty glared at Ash. "And he thinks dragging me here on Charizard was the best idea ever!"

Brock looked between them, then at the doctor. "Can I borrow those gloves?"

The doctor handed them over, confused.

Brock put the gloves on, holding his hands up. "Okay, Misty. Let’s make this simple. I’m here now. I’ll check your leg myself. Will that stop this chaos?"

Misty narrowed her eyes but nodded. "Fine. But if you try anything weird, Brock, I’ll—"

"I get it, Misty," Brock said with a sigh.

Ash muttered under his breath, "Still not as bad as dealing with her temper every day..."

"What was that?!" Misty snapped, and the yelling started all over again.