The next day...

"Come on, Ember! It doesn't take 20 minutes for a last second swimsuit change!" Teari complained to her cousin, "Why do you have so many anyway? Just take them all for goodness sakes!"

"Teari, I've already done that. I'm packing my toothbrush and deodorant. And I do not have too many swimsuits! I have three!"

"Then hurry up already! I can't wait to see who'll be able to come!" Teari exclaimed, excitedly, before realizing that Ember had already rushed past her and was already sending out her Pokémon.

"Hey, wait up!" Teari shouted after them.

"Then hop on then, Teari. Arcanine wouldn't mind carrying one extra passenger."

"Arr!" Ember's Arcanine barked in reply, showing her approval.

So Teari and Ember rushed their way to the dock. Ready for the adventure ahead of them.

~

"Forrest, I leave you in charge of the Gym. Make sure that mom doesn't try to change the Gym type again, okay?" Brock said to his younger brother, who was hugging him a moment ago.

"You can count on me, Brock. I won't let you down." He replied.

"I know you won't, and I know you won't let down the family either." Brock said, turning away from home, and headed toward Pallet Town.

~

"Are you sure you can take over the Gym, Casey? I mean, it's better than my sisters giving the badges away, but still."

"Don't worry, Misty! I got it all under control!" Casey reassured her, pushing Misty out of the Cerulean City Gym, before shutting the door behind her.

"Okay..." Misty uttered to herself, heading toward Pewter City, where she would eventually meet up with Brock, before arriving in Pallet Town.

I wonder what Teari's cousin will be like... Misty thought. Maybe she's a water type lover like me!

~

Tracey was almost at the dock. He couldn't help but wonder about when the right time would be to say something to her. He knew that there was no way that jumping right into the subject would be a good idea. But he just couldn't stop thinking it.

I just want to be special. Tracey assured himself. I just want to be special to her. I know that we're just childhood friends, but I want her to know that I'll always be there for her. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. Tracey thought.
I love you to death, Teari. I know it may not seem like it, but I really do, and I know that I'll make sure that whoever wins your heart is a good person. If they ever hurt you, I won't stop until they get what they deserve. I know that I don't deserve you, but I'll kill whoever even thinks of mistreating you.

~

Teari and Ember had arrived at the dock, and Ember was watching the people boarding the ship, while Teari saw the others coming their way. First to arrive was-

"Tray!" Teari shouted, tackling him in a hug. "You made it!"

"Of course I did, Teari! I'm your best friend, right?" Tracey replied, wondering to himself if he seemed suspicious... or needy.

"You're right. I should've known you'd come." Teari smiled, ending their hug.

"Says the one who was worried that Tracey would be the only one to not show up all night long." Ember butted in, making Teari red in the face. "Seriously though, your nervousness can get overwhelming sometimes."

Teari decided not to say anything.

Tracey had no words to decide to say or not.

Teari... worried..... about... me?

Then Brock and Misty showed up. Brock was almost within talking range with Ember before Misty yanked on his ear.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." Misty warned. "If you start flirting with her now and something goes wrong, we'll be stuck with you weeping like a Weepinbell the whole trip! We don't want to have to drop your little sorry ass back home so we can actually have fun! Got it!?"

Brock gulped, "Got it."

~

On board, they found out that they got rooms 103 and 105, which also happened to be connected, which was convenient for them. After they dropped off their bags and attached their Pokéballs to their belt (except for Tracey and Misty who kept them in their pockets due to the lack of having belts), they decided to head over to the arcade. Brock, luckily, had enough to pay for a bunch of tokens for all of them.

"Hey guys, do we want to get our own prizes, or do we want to get one?" Ember asked everyone.

"Getting one big prize sounds good!" Misty commented.

"And how about the person who wins the most tickets gets to choose the prize?" Tracey suggested.

"Oo! I like that idea!" Teari exclaimed, excitedly. "So it'll be competitive!"

"Yeah, let's do it!" Brock agreed.

~

So it was settled, Teari and Tracey would go together and Misty was paired with Brock. Ember kinda wondered from pair to pair, but mainly hung around the claw machines because none of the prizes behind the counter really interested her.

Teari, on the other hand, really, really, really, really, really, really, really wanted the life-sized Wobbuffet, body pillow, plush thingy! It sadly was the second most expensive prize there was, so it was pretty much a no go. They decided to stop once it was lunch time and meet up to have some pizza before heading out.

She then noticed that Tracey had started on a new arcade machine.

"Whatcha doin' now?" She asked, unsure of what game he was playing.

"It's a... ticket wheel... thingy?..." Tracey replied, obviously not knowing what it was actually called. "Basically it's one of those things where you pull the lever, which spins the wheel, and whatever the wheel stops on, is the amount of tickets you earn." He explained, while demonstrating it for her.

"650 tickets!" Teari exclaimed, as he pulled them out. "Why isn't this one more crowded! This thing is fabulous!"

"I don't know to be honest with you. I've used these things as my secret weapon at these kind of places." Tracey admitted, inserting two more tokens.

"May I try?" Teari asked, causing him to look up from his low position.

"Sure, go ahead." He said, getting back up on his feet again.

So Teari grabbed and pulled down the lever as hard as she could.

"Ooo! What'll it land on!" Teari chanted, practically dancing around the machine, making Tracey smile at how her behavior reminded him of when they were little kids. A lot really hasn't changed after four years. In some ways, that is.

"1200!" Tracey said, after reading the number.

"Yay! Just 3600 left to go!" Teari cheered, getting her tickets.

"Until what?" Tracey asked her, even though he already knew that she was probably referring to a certain prize behind the counter she couldn't keep her eyes off of.

"Until I can get that large Wobbuffet thingy!" Teari explained, fangirling just the tinniest bit.

Tracey smiled. Just like old times. He thought. "Let's team up then, so if either of us win, you can get that Wobbuffet."

"You mean it!?" Teari squealed.

"Absol-utely!"

They laughed at his pun before Teari glanced over at where the others were. Smirking, she gave Tracey a look. When his expression seemed to misunderstand, she swung her head at Brock and Ember. He followed her hinting, and returned her an identical, smug smirk.

~

"Hey, Brock?" Ember asked, "Have you ever thought that they'd make a cute couple?"

"Uh?"

"Teari and Tracey, I mean." Ember clarified, as soon as she noticed that she didn't quite get Brock's attention.

"Oh," Brock pondered, "You know... I've never really thought of it before. They would, wouldn't they?"

"Um hm." Ember mumbled as she nodded. "All they need is a ship name."

"TeariSketchitShipping?" Misty suggested.

"What!? No!" Ember shouted. "Do want it to sound like they're married?! I was thinking TearTraceShipping."

"That sounds too bland." Misty retorted, emotionless.

"How about SketchHowlItShipping?" Brock suggested.

Ember and Misty exchanged glances before Ember excitedly replied with, "You're a genius, Brock!"

~

It was down to Tracey's last 2 tokens. Together, they had collected 3445 tickets, 1355 short from what the Wobbuffet was worth. The adrenaline, rushing through their veins.

It was all down to this one, last, spin.

It was now, or never.

"Tray... wait." Teari mumbled.

"What, Teari?" Tracey softly asked, easing his grip on the lever to face his best friend.

"I-I... just wanted to–" Teari stuttered, praying to herself that this wouldn't be seen by everyone else and that this would show him that there was potential. She just hoped it wouldn't seem like she wanted to jump into that potential...

~

"Oh my Arceus, she kissed him." Misty said, staring at them.

"What!?" Ember screamed, instantly unhypnotized from Brock and the Berry Ninja game.

"Huh?!" Brock exclaimed, right after Ember, a Custap Berry flying by the screen.

"She kissed him!" Misty freaked/overreacted, griping the back of her head, as if to explode or rage. "Right there! On the cheek! I! Am! DONE!" She finished, arms in the air as if to surrender, about ready to walk out, but didn't.

"Slow down, Misty." Brock attempted to comfort. "It's not that bad."

"What!?" Misty held back screams. "That they just caught up with each other after 4 years and they're already closer to being in a relationship than-" She cut herself off, "Than... Ash and I..."

They were quiet for a little while.

"You're jealous... aren't you?" Ember spoke up softly, "That Tracey got a kiss from his ...well... sorta crush before you did."

She nodded, noticing that her sympathetic tone showed that she was used to these sort of things, like she has had to do this a lot or something. She wondered why, but figured it could be due to her being 16, which is 4 more years than her, or that it was possibly because of something that's on an even more personal level. Misty relaxed, figuring that it was best if she didn't work herself up over something that could have been the least of her new friend's worries.

"Yeah... I guess. But it seems silly." Misty sighed, continuing with the answer of what she figured they'd ask. "That... Tracey only wants to be a slightly extra special friend to her, because he loves her to death and doesn't mind at all if she doesn't love him back... and I really want Ash to know how I feel about him... but my ego, I guess, would get the better of me and I'm afraid that he'll think I've changed too much..."

Misty paused. Ember and Brock were listening very intently now, and it helped her calm down a bit. The act of kindness from a friend she doesn't see very often and her new friend's cousin, made her smile on the inside.

"... yet... They just had their special moment together... and... they don't even want to be more than friends... but that's all if ever wanted between Ash and I... to get out of the friend zone."

At this point, silence was the only thing noticeable between them other than the silent, soggy tears that wetted Misty's cheek. She didn't even realize that they were falling until her friends pulled her into a hug.

It was nice. How much they cared about her. She felt like they actually understood what she was talking about. She thought that only Tracey was this caring to her when she talked about Ash, because of how he had been through the same thing with Teari when she moved away when they were younger.

It made her happy, to know that her friends really did know and care about what she was going through. And she knew that if Teari and Tracey were here, they'd be hugging too. She let her smile out.

"Thanks guys." She said, wiping away some of her tears after pulling away from the hug.

"Anytime, Misty." Ember smiled. "If there's anything troubling you, don't hesitate to let us know. We'll be there for you."

Misty couldn't help herself any longer.

More tears came out, but this time, they were tears of happiness. "Thanks so much, Ember! You too, Brock! You guys really are the best!" She grinned from ear to ear, pulling them into a quick Beware hug.

After the tears were out of Misty's system, Brock asked if she was okay with Tracey and Teari now. She nodded, knowing that it wasn't really their fault that she was upset, and decided that she wasn't jealous of them anymore. Besides, she did think that they'd be perfect for each other.

"So, why did she kiss him on the cheek anyway?" Brock asked.

"I don't know, but I think it may have something to do with that game they've been playing for awhile." Misty replied. "Perhaps they were down to their last tokens."

"A good luck kiss. Figures." Brock sighed. "Even Tracey has a better chance at finding love than me."

Misty and Ember rolled their eyes. Of course he finally gets depressed about not having a girl of his own to give him good luck kisses.

"So, SketchHowlItShipping official cannon?" Misty concluded.

"Definitely." Ember and Brock replied immediately in perfect synchronization.

~

After they got the Wobbuffet in exchange for their tickets, Teari and Tracey come to the table where they came across three smiling teens. Well, Tracey did anyway. Teari was kinda hidden behind her enormous prize.

"What's up?" Tracey asked his friends.

"The sky." Said Misty.

"The ceiling." Said Brock.

"Oxygen, mixed with other elements." Said Ember, who earned laughs from all around.

~

Hey guys! The Author here!

Hope you guys like this so far!

I hope that this was personal enough for you guys. I really hope that you guys can be patient with me when it comes to updates!

Please tell me if what parts are your favorite and what things I need to work on! Comments and votes are always appreciated!

~Teari Howl't!