Greetings. I am the one and only. Arcanine is me.
Needless to say, this is an AAMRN story. It will come in four parts, so you 
will have to wait. I hope to achieve awards with
this, but I shall have to keep my hopes crossed.
Comments should be forwarded to achioang@hotmail.com. Flaming and spamming 
will not, repeat not, tolerated.
And now for the boring disclaimer…
I do not own Pokemon. This story is entirely fictional and any content 
related to anyone in any way is purely coincidental. Happy?

Nostalgia

Midnight Memories (Part 1)

Ash Ketchum lay in bed, thinking. Hard.
Of all the memories he had on his Pokémon journey, he didn’t want to 
remember what had just happened earlier in the day.
He had just slapped Misty that day.
She called him a baby. Only Lt. Surge had ever called him that before, but 
it didn’t hurt him so personally when Lt. Surge
said it, just humiliated him a little. But Misty calling him a baby was 
something much different. You see, it doesn’t feel
good at all to be insulted by the friend of your life. Especially if you had 
a relationship that took you both all the way
through Kanto and the Orange Islands. Especially if you loved her.
Ash’s mind began to wander. He wondered if Misty ever actually loved him. 
She had called him a baby with all the disgust and
hate she had ever relished upon someone. All the way through his journey of 
Kanto Misty had pestered him continuously about
her bike that he “stole” and broke. He had been humiliated and put down by 
her. Continuously. She never seemed to care about
him except when his Pokémon were concerned. Especially Pikachu.
Pikachu. His life-long buddy had sided along with Misty, as usual. He always 
had a soft spot on her. Even Brock and Tracey
had abandoned him. He was alone. He hated Misty then, and was sure she hated 
him too.
And yet he loved her.
He remembered the time when she cured him of his fever when he got in the 
way of a Vileplume’s Stun Spore. He also remembered
the time when she had helped him during his Gym battles and fights at the 
Indigo Plateau. He felt comforted just thinking
about all the good memories.
He made a quick decision. He was going to apologise to her, and confess his 
love as well, first thing in the morning.
Sleep took over his weary body and soon he was out like a light.

***
Misty was having no better luck than Ash had. She was sniffling. Pikachu 
(who was there to keep her company) and Togepi had
long drifted to sleep.
“Why did he have to be so mean?” she thought sadly as she cried to herself. 
“I had no idea he would react so seriously.”
She began to recall the times she and Ash had spent together.
Sometimes she had wished she had never met him at all. He not only broke her 
bike, he also got her (and Brock) lost in thick
forests most of the time, sometimes even mocking her. He was, most of the 
time, too big for his boots. He was one hot-headed,
overly-proud trainer who occasionally humiliated the trio upon meeting 
acquaintances.
And yet she loved him.
She felt her heart shatter the moment she felt the pain from his palm. She 
knew their relationship was done for, and he would
never forgive her. Now to think of it, she had really humiliated him at 
times, and had been quite selfish at times.
Nevertheless, she was sure he still loved her. She knew that he had been 
worried for her before, like when she tried to
encourage the Tentacruel and Tentacool back to the sea. She began to feel 
that she still had a chance.
She knew what to do. First thing in the morning, she would apologise to him 
for the insult, and confess her love for him.
Fatigue from crying finally drove her to sleep.

***
Rudy lay back in the soft chair. He was miles above the ground, in a luxury 
blimp (luckily not run by Team Rocket). He let out a sigh of relief.
“I hope Mahri is running the gym well,” he thought to himself. “I haven’t 
seen them for a while. Especially Misty.”
He remembered that soft, orange hair. Those beautiful azure eyes. That 
infectious laugh of hers. He let out another sigh. He hoped that his holiday 
trip to Pallet Town would be fruitful, even though he knew that Misty might 
have already fallen for Ash. Even if Ash and Misty were already together, it 
would be good for him to check on the famous Professor Oak.
“Ricky.” He snapped his fingers.
“Yes, Master Rudy.”
“Are the flowers ready?”
“Yes, Master Rudy.”
“Good. Thank you.”
He remembered that white roses were her favourite. Or so he thought they 
were.

***
“Here is your key, miss.”
“Thank you.”
Duplica grabbed the key, and took the elevator up to her room.
“It’ll be so good to see Ash again. And his Pikachu too.” She giggled at the 
very thought of Ash. She loved him the first
time she saw him. That was her secret. Not even Ditto knew about her secret 
crush on him. She had left the Imitate House,
with Ditto (who had learnt to transform into exact human replicas) left in 
charge just to see him.
The Pokémon League cap. The black hair. The intriguing hairstyle. That face.
“Oh Ash, if only you knew,” she laughed.
The elevator reached the floor her room was at.

***
This is the end of the current developments of this story. Thank you.