Ash doing pull-ups in the backyard of the Pokemon centre, with his arms crossed across his chest, and without a shirt on. He was trying to develop his chest muscles, and was having some luck. A trickle of sweat ran down his face and dripped off his chin, and hit Brock in the face. "Hey! Watch where you're sweating, Matt!" he complained. "Brock! What're you doing here?" Ash asked, flipping down from the tree he was hanging from. "Delivering some Pokemon and filling a perscription. What are you doing?" "Well...I'm working out. I don't think I have a very good build, so..." "Oh... Wanna impress the ladies, don't you?" "Um, yeah. But there's only one lady I wanna impress." "Oh? Who's that?" "That is my business." Brock began to laugh. "Oh, I wanted to tell you,I have a friend coming to the Island in a couple of days, and I want you to meet her." "Okay..." It was after curfew, when Brock came running in, with Vulpix in his arms, screaming for help. Ash got up, and ran out of his sleeping quarters. "Brock! What is it?" "It's Vulpix! Please! You've gotta save it!" Ash took Vulpix from Brocks arms. It was obvious that Vulpix had been mauled by a much larger Pokemon, and had lost a terrible amount of blood. *It must've been a Poison Pokemon.* Ash decided, looking at Vulpix's stiffened limbs. He listened to Vulpix's heart.*Fluttering. Not much time left...* Ash paged Ashly and Nurse Joy, and got his Chansy out. "Chansy, take Vulpix into the Emergency Room, and get it stabelized, stat!" "Chansy!" Ash looked with distaste at the blood on Brock's clothes. "Okay, Brock. You gotta tell me everything that happened to Vulpix." "W-we were on p-patrol, and we came across Prof.Ivy's Nidoking. It attacked us, but Vulpix tried to save me. Nidoking went on a rampage, and trampled Vulpix. I-I had to beat Nidoking off it with a stick...and now..." Brock burried his face in his hands, and cried. Ash layed a reasuring hand on Brock's shoulder, and went into the ER. An hour before dawn, Ash came out of the ER, visibly exausted. Brock looked up, and Ash flashed him a thumbs-up. "Thanks to you getting Vulpix here as quickly as you did, Brock, Vulpix is going to be fine again. It'll be awhile before it gets up again, but other than that, it's the perfect Pokemon again." "Oh, Thank god! Thank you!" Brock seemed to frown slightly. "What's the matter, Brock?" Ash asked gently. "Oh, it's just...I can't go back to prof.Ivy's, not after this..." Nurse Joy overheard him say this. "Don't worry Brock. If it's that much of a problem, you can work here for awhile, if you want." "You mean it?" "Of course." "Then I accept!" Misty, Togepy, and D.J stepped off the boat, looking around. Brock waved to them. "Oh, um, there's been a change of plans, guys. I can't go with you..." Brock said, looking down at his feet."I got a new job, and I can't leave it." "Oh, we understand, Brock. Uh, what's your job, anyway?" "Um, I work in the Pokemon centre. If you want, I'll introduce you to my friend." "Sure." "Hey, Matt? My friend, Misty, is here. And her friend, D.J." "Oh, she is?" Ash smiled nervously. He had practiced not being afraid, but it wasn't working very well."Hello D.J, Hello, Misty. Brock, you have a pretty friend, you know? I'd give anything to have a friend like Misty. She looks just the way you described her. And what a cute Pokemon!" "Oh, come now! Have I ever been known to fib?" "Hello, Matt!" Misty laughed. "Toge-Briiiiiii!" Togepy waved its tiny fingers happily. *Yes! I passed test # 1!* Ash thought.*And Misty, Togepy, and D.J don't even recognise me! Heh-heh-heh!* "Um, so what are you doing here?" Ash asked nervously. "We, um, are going to travel around the Arcapeleco, to, um, find a friend of ours..." "Oh, do you have an idea of how you're going to do this?" "Actually, we don't." "Then I think I can help you." Ash said, turning to the door of the Pokemon Centre,"C'mon, Chansy." "Chansy!" Down at the bay, Ash stood looking out towards the sea. Then he saw what he was looking for. He pulled out a small whistle, and blew into it. A sweet, sad sound came out, and a Pokemon came closer to him. It was a Lapras. "Chansey, start off with Double Slap!" Ash said trying not to sound like he used to when he was still 'Ash Ketchum', still a trainer. "Chansy! Chansy! Chansy! Chansy!" "Now Sing!" Ash was covering his ears as it began to sing. That always sent a chill down his spine. Lapras was visably weakened. Ash threw a Pokeball at it. The Pokeball wiggled on the rock it had landed on, and was still. Ash picked it up, and gave it to Misty. "There you go, Hon." Ash drawled in a sweet voice, and turned. "Oh, thank you Matt!" Misty cried,"But why'd you call me 'Hon'?" "Oh, I call all pretty girls 'Hon'." Misty blushed slightly, and giggled. Ash smiled sadly, and went back inside the Pokemon Centre. *Oh, I was a fool!* He thought, going into his room, and curling up on his bed, tears running down his face.*I shouldn't have left! But if I had called her 'Hon' while I was still 'Ash Ketchum', She would have slapped me!* Misty was happily chatting with Brock and Ashly, outside. "Oh, Matt is so sweet! And so polite!" Misty bubbled,"How'd you meet him?" "I met him on the boat coming over." Aashly replied. "And I met him when he was making a delivery over at Prof.Ivy's lab." Brock added, smiling."He seems to like you, Misty. And catching that Lapras..." Brock whistled."He's a real pro!" Ashly looked down at her feet before commenting. "He used to be a really good trainer, before...before he lost his passion for Pokemon training." "Oh! How'd that happen?" Misty asked.*I thought he looked a little sad!* "I'm not sure..." Ash was caring for one of his patients (a baby Eevee), un-aware that Misty was watching him. *He's so gentle!* Misty thought, looking at him handling the small infant. *He's like...well, so unreal! Matt is so wonderfull!* Ash re-bandaged the Eevee's tiny paw with the greatest of care. The Eevee licked his cheek happily, making Ash giggle slightly. Not a girlish sounding giggle, but a rather man-ly, loving, and quiet one. Suddenly Ash became aware of Misty's presence. Whirling around in a fighting stance, not knowing that it was Misty, Ash looked around. Misty gasped slightly, and tripped over her own feet, sending herself sprawling. Ash saw her fall, and rushed to her side. "Are you alright, Misty?" He asked quietly, helping her to her feet. "Yeah-ow!" Misty exclaimed,"I think I twisted my ankle!" Ash paled under his even tan. He picked up a protesting Misty, and layed her down on the bed, and began to look over her foot. "A bad sprain." He anounced,"I'll put a tension bandage and an ice pack on it for tonight, and see how you are in the morning. How does that sound?" "That'll be fine, Matt..."Misty murmured, looking down, embarassed. "Hey, why were you standing in the doorway? You know you're welcome to come in if you're curious, you know."Ash said, applying the bandage. "I just felt so...so...enchanted, the way you're so gentle with the Pokemon, and I felt embarassed when you caught me watching you..." Ash looked sorrowfully at Misty, his brown eyes glowing softly. "I'll go get your friends, so sit tight, okay?" "Yeah...You know, Matt, you're just as good at treating humans, as you are Pokemon." "Thanks! No difference, really. Same stuff." Brock, D.J and Togepy were upset that Misty had hurt herself, but didn't mind that much, after 'Matt' told them she would be okay after she got some rest. "Toge-Briiiiii! Toge-Toge-Briiiiiiii!" (Mommy! You're so clumsy!) "Gee, go easy on her Togepy! She didn't mean to hurt herself, you know..." D.J said, holding the little Egg Pokemon in his arms. "Ah," Ash said, desperately trying to change the subject before Misty told them the reason that she had been watching him. He'd never hear the end of it from Brock afterwards!,"Ashly, it's our turn to cook supper. Why don't we go do that now?" "Okay, Matt." Ashly said, stiffling a giggle. She still couldn't get used to calling Ash by his new name. "I'll help." Brock offered. "Naw, we can manage on our own, you know..." "Okay." Ash and Ashly began to fix supper. Ash flipped out his pocket knife, and started to peel some potatoes, while Ashly started a green salad. Shutting the door, she popped an expected question. "Ash? You still love her, don't you?" "Of course I do! I never stopped loving her!" Ash almost yelled, and he got his voice under control."I was just a little angry at her, and D.J, ...and myself." He looked down. "Hey it's okay, Ash, She'd understand if you told her, you know..." "You think...? I don't think I will yet..." *'Cause I think I love You!* At dinner, the conversation was strained: Misty was in pain, Ash was nervous, Togepy was upset about Misty, Ashly was about to burst with the weight of the secret she was holding, Brock was puzzled, D.J was wairy of 'Matt', and Nurse Joy was frustraited by trying to figure out what was going on.