Right, I'm really sorry for the wait, but I've been sorting out exams, had many football matches, and umm, what else has happened... oh, and 2 power cuts... so they can be blamed for the lack of a chapter. But I'm not at school for a fortnight now... I have a Christmas fic in the works, but whether it gets finished before Christmas is another question I don't think it will, but I will get it out asap! I promise! Anyway, please enjoy this, if I get any reviews, I'll take them as Christmas presents from you guys!!! Disclaimer: Santa: Now then little (*cough*) girl, what would you like for Christmas? Me: (Sweet little kiddie voice) I'd weally weally WEAALLLY like to own evwything Pokémon... Santa: Well, tough luck!!! Mwahahahaha!!!!! Well, that sums it up I guess. I don't own Pokémon, never will, and even Santa can't give it to us... >.< *~*~*~*~* Misty's Journey By Misty's Double Part 7: Back On The Road! (Finally!!!) ~*And from me, please DO enjoy this! I know it has been a long time coming, and I hope it's worth the wait for you!!!*~ When we left off last time, Ash had just asked Team Rocket to help Misty by agreeing to help make an Antidote using Jessie's Arbok. After some persuasion, they agreed. Misty had fallen in between consciousness and a coma again, and Ash is currently oblivious to this... Anyway, here comes the chapter after the refresher... *~*~*~*~* Ash burst through Misty's door, with Team Rocket a little behind. "God, I didn't think he'd be able to run that fast..." Jessie panted. "Ash? Where have you been?" Jo scowled "Finding these three..." Ash panted as Team Rocket arrived at the door. "So, it was you three hey? I could have guessed. How low can you three go? Look at the state Misty's in! I can't believe you actually did this..." Brock shouted. "Chill Squinty, we've already had dis... We can still go back on our deal if you're gonna treat us like dat..." Meowth trailed off "So? How can you two call yourselves humans doing something like that?" "Brock, leave it. You ARE NOT going to turn your back now, I'll make sure of it..." Ash shouted. Pikachu, whom had been sleeping at the bottom of Misty's bed, woke up suddenly due to the commotion. She noticed Jessie and James. She ran up to Ash's feet, poising herself for an attack. "Pikaaa..." Pikachu warned "Oh sure Twerp. We'd love to watch you, and call off your Pikachu's attack if you don't want to injure Twerpette even further..." Jessie sneered. Ash growled as the trio made their way towards the door, and he leaped at the door, spreading himself across the frame. "Pikachu, back off. I'll repeat what I said: I'M GONNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T TURN YOUR BACK OUT OF THE DEAL!!!" Ash shouted, going red in the face. "Ash, quieten down!" Brock said. *~*~*~*~* MISTY'S POV It's not fair! I wanted some sleep, but I knew I couldn't, but I just couldn't fight my eyes... they just drifted off themselves... but it's weird. I was expecting everything to just go black, and go silent, but I could hear everything around me...just not do anything about it... I heard Jo and Brock worry; I heard Dr Barton and Joy work on me, I FELT them working on me; I just couldn't respond to them. I tried opening my eyes, I tried everything, and I just can't get the strength... Then, I hear Ash... and other voices... I couldn't quite place until I heard Meowth... it HAS to be Team Rocket... what are they doing here... but I heard Ash... talking, and then he began to get angry... with Brock for some strange reason... but Ash is back... I've got to at least try to wake, not just give up... *~*~*~*~* Ash breathed deeply, trying to contain his anger against Team Rocket's ignorance and selfishness. Pikachu had obeyed Ash's command, so walked back over to Misty's bed, and sat on there, keeping watch on Team Rocket. Dr Barton had heard all the commotion, and had come to the door behind Ash. "I'm telling you, you just can't turn back now... if you do, the police will be involved. So, what you gonna do? You've got a choice. Help us or go to jail?" Ash said angrily "We'll err... go wid ya Twerp... for now" Meowth replied "Excuse me Ash, but are these people relatives of Misty?" Dr Barton asked, making Ash jump. Ash turned around. "Huh? Oh, no. They're here because they've got an Arbok who we can use the poison from it to produce an antidote." Ash replied, deciding to leave out the part about attacking Misty "Oh, is that so? Well, you can come this way to the labs while Joy stays with Misty." Dr Barton replied, and smiling at Team Rocket. "Oh, err... we've got to be going now-" James started, only to be interrupted by Ash. "*Ahem* you said you were going to help..." Ash warned. "Oh, okay!" Jessie sighed in exasperation. Team Rocket followed Dr Barton out of the ward. Ash smiled watching them leave before talking to Brock. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, it was just they had promised to cooperate, and they were going to turn their backs..." "No, it's okay man. I shouldn't have got involved." Brock replied "So then Ash, Misty'll love you for getting them to help... if she wakes up..." Jo sighed "What? What's happened? I've missed something haven't I?" Ash asked, panic becoming evident in his voice again, and he turned to look at Misty's sleeping form. "Well, she had been complaining about being tired, you knew that, right?" Jo started. Ash nodded. "Carry on..." Ash said. "Well, when you left, she fell asleep, and well... Joy's said that Misty's in between a coma and consciousness... so she could go either way...that's why she's hooked up to the heart monitor, so they know if she's gone into a coma again..." Jo informed Ash. "Okay, thanks Jo," He sighed as he sat down next to Misty again. He stared at her and sighed, holding her hand again. It was ice cold. 'She really doesn't deserve to be here... and I still want to know why TR attacked her...' "Ash, do you want me to check on your Pokémon? I'm off to the Pokémon Centre to check on Misty's and my Pokémon; I might even bring Misty's Togepi back up. It'll be lonely and upset there...I need to get some fresh air anyway." Brock asked "Yeah please. Oh, and tell Misty's that they'll be with their owner soon. Could you go towards the vending machine with me? I need another drink..." Ash replied. Brock nodded, so Ash got up. He flinched when he put his arm down to push himself up. "Ash, what's wrong?" "I'm alright, my arm just hurt a little. Now come on, let's go." Ash replied, dismissing his swollen arm. Brock looked at it for a second "No, I reckon you should get that checked on. It doesn't look good. What happened?" Brock asked. "When I went after Team Rocket, I had to climb down the cliff, and at the bottom I fell. It's nothing serious, honest!" Ash tried to reassure Brock. "Whatever, just don't forget about looking after yourself, okay?" Brock finished, walking out the room with Ash. Ash returned a couple of minutes later with a drink. He sat next to Misty and looked at her again. "Jo, do you know where Ritchie is at the moment?" Ash asked suddenly. "Well, last thing I heard he was doing was heading back to Kanto to Cerulean I think. Why?" "I was just wondering. We saw him in the Whirl Islands about 4 months ago when there was some commotion over Lugia..." "Yeah, he said to me last time we spoke that he had collected all the Johto badges, but he didn't think he was ready for the Johto League yet, so he's going back home. Next time I phone him, I'll let you two talk," "Do you two actually get on with each other?" "Most of the time, unless we start fighting about our Pokémon... He usually starts it, and his Sparky usually ends it for both of us... But we don't get on at all with our sister Samantha... she's older than us, and thinks she rules us, and our Pokémon! I guess that's one reason why Ritchie and me left on journeys to get away from her... She doesn't train Pokémon, to put it short; she's a best friend with Misty's sisters. As ditzy as you can get..." Jo laughed. "Oh, coz I don't have any siblings, but when me and Misty were travelling, we fought like siblings, and it usually ended with Pikachu shocking us, or Misty whacking me one with her mallet. It feels like we're brother and sister though, how we fight, and the fact we're so close. Us two haven't been separated for longer than a day until she left us..." Ash explained. After a couple of minute's silence, Ash decided to put on the TV (They had it in the room for Misty when they brought her up from ICU), and after some channel hopping, he settled with a documentary about the various species of Pokémon on Mt. Silver. They sat contently watching it for about half an hour, but Ash had fallen asleep 10 minutes before. When Brock returned, laden with three Pokéballs, Jo turned the TV off seeing as she hadn't taken any interest in it. "Hi Jo! How's Misty?" "The same. Keep it down a little, look at Ash," Jo replied, nodding towards Ash. "It's good that he's finally got some sleep. He's been worried sick because of Misty, and he's beginning to suffer too." "Yeah... I can see what you mean about him now." "Yup. Anyway I've brought back Misty's Togepi, and a couple others." "Togepi? Apparently the first species was found after a cave collapse in Grandpa Canyon a few years ago..." "Yeah, that was us... Ash found it accidentally, and Misty 'won' Togepi when it hatched... Ash won it really, but it didn't seem too fond of him." "What other Pokémon have you brought of Misty's?" "Well, Joy said I should take Misty's Pichu with me... it had been missing her..." "A Pichu? That's not like Misty, an Electric type... but I guess it falls under the 'cute' category with her..." Jo finished. 45 minutes later... Jo and Brock had been quietly tending to Togepi and Pikachu respectively for the past 30 minutes. They had decided they shouldn't let Pichu out in case Ash wakes up and noticed it. Jo had been playing peek-a-boo with Togepi, while Brock groomed Pikachu. Ash was still asleep, and Nurse Joy had been to check Misty again, saying that she had stayed the same. Togepi had recently got bored of playing with Jo, so Pikachu played with it quietly, playing chase. "God, I hope Misty gets better soon...she'll be very upset if she misses the Johto League..." Jo said quietly. After that, Ash sat up slowly and yawned. "That's the last time I sleep in that position... What you say about the Johto League?" Ash said half- asleep. "Err... I said that I hope Misty gets better soon; you'll be upset if you miss the Johto League..." Jo hesitated. "Yeah, but that's not for another... 2 1/2 months. She'll be out of hospital by then..." Ash said optimistically after counting the weeks on his fingers. A couple of minutes later, Dr Barton and Team Rocket came bursting through the door. "The antidote's ready!" Dr Barton announced to the trio. "Right, great, we've helped ya Twerp, can we go yet?" Meowth moaned "Yeah, I don't want to be around when she wakes up... she had a bad enough temper when we-" Jessie added "Yeah yeah, you're free to go. Thanks you three, I guess you *are* human after all..." Ash thanked. Team Rocket gladly took their leave, and left the hospital. "Well, all we've got to do now is wait for Misty to wake up again... Call me when she wakes okay? According to Nurse Joy, she can't be like this for too long, she said it's like a deep sleep." Dr Barton said as he left the room. "Thank God for that... they actually helped us..." Brock said "I'm really surprised they actually helped you know..." Ash trailed off. "Who exactly are they?" Jo asked, oblivious to whom Jessie and James were. "Team Rocket? They are two people in Team Rocket-" "Don't state the obvious Ash!" Brock butted in "Okay. They do what Team Rocket do... steal Pokémon, only these don't have any luck... they've been following us three since I was in Viridian Pokémon Centre arguing with Misty... they're always after Pikachu, but they never catch her...luckily. They've been after us for...nearly 4 years!" Ash finished, after counting the years on his fingers. "But that doesn't explain why they attacked Misty..." "Well, maybe they thought that Pikachu and I were with her, I mean you can definitely see Misty from a way off, with the red hair...not in a bad way, mind." Ash stared out of the window at the now dark horizon, and the only light coming from the still buzzing city centre below. "What you want on the TV? I'll stick it on if you want," Jo asked no one in particular. "Hmm... The Pokémon League's finished by now... oh just stick the news on... see what's happening" Ash replied. Jo turned on the TV, and changed the channel. "It's not like you to watch the news Ash..." Brock said surprised "Yeah, well sue me. Anyway, there is a first time for everything..." Ash frowned. He looked up at the screen, and the sports section was just finishing. "And now onto the weather for the next 24 hours." The camera went from the sports studio to the main news studio, over to the weather. "Thank you Dave. As you can see, to the far west over Cianwood and the Whirl Islands there is a band of rain approaching. Now if we look at the radar picture, the worst of the rain is in the southwest, so Azalea and Goldenrod could expect a heavy downpour tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, it looks like yet more snow for the northern cities, the worst looks like it will fall on Mt. Mortar..." "You really wouldn't expect snow at this time of year. Its June, not November!!!" Ash moaned "It just shows the variations in Johto I guess" Jo replied. Ash nodded "The temperature charts now, and the highest looks to be in Cherrygrove around the 17 mark (A/N Look, I'm English, so sue me, we do the temperature in degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit... I just thought I'd explain that to ya...), while the lowest is set to be Mahogany Town that has a mere 3 degrees tomorrow due to the snow, which will be heavy. Now back to the news desk." "The main headlines tonight. Team Rocket has warned about another attack on Mahogany Town unless certain deals are agreed between the executives and Johto government. The government has reported there will be a mass smallpox inoculation as a 'precaution' after a weapons dossier was released claiming that biological weapons are in Team Rocket's reach. And finishing on a higher note, Chuck has reported that his gym will reopen next week after being flooded out by a storm surge 3 weeks back. Also, Lance- the Elite Four's leader has issued a challenge to any able trainer to compete in the upcoming Johto League held at the Indigo Plateau on the Kanto/ Johto border. Anyone seeking more information should watch the challenge later tonight at 9:30 Central Johto Time. That's all from me tonight, but I will be on the breakfast news beginning tomorrow morning starting 6:00 AM. That's all from the news team on Johto TV, and we wish you a good evening." "Okay, I've bagged the TV at 9:30 tonight. Anyone wants to complain, we'll have a battle over it!" Ash said getting fired up. "He he heh... Okay Ash, it's all yours..." Jo replied nervously "He gets excited around 2 months before a tournament. You think he's bad now? Wait until the opening ceremony. But the nerves get the better of him the first day." Brock explained, remembering the Indigo League. "Brock?" Ash asked innocently "Hmm?" "Shut it!!!" Ash sighed before mumbling "You'd get excited if you were about to fight the best trainers in the country... besides I never get nervous before a game..." "What was that?" "Nothing..." Ash sighed, before turning to Misty again, and held her hand. 'Misty, the sooner you wake up, the sooner you will recover' Ash thought, before something struck him about her. "Brock, Misty's hands were cold earlier..." Ash thought aloud "I wouldn't know, I haven't held them, but Joy said about her getting cold earlier because her body's slowing down. Why?" "Well her hand's pretty warm... you would expect it to be cold." "That must mean she must be coming round again..." Jo said hopefully. Ash smiled. "Misty, you hear that? You're coming back to us again! Just come on, please show us that you are..." Ash said to Misty, while staring at her hand, pretty sure he had felt her hand twitch. "Brock, do you think..." Jo trailed off "She may well be. Remember what Joy and Dr. Barton said?" "Look Misty, the antidote's ready, as soon as you wake we can stop you suffering. So you've got a choice. Keep fighting the fever and come back to us, or just quit, and fall back into a coma, and maybe never come out of it again. Come on, just please don't give up!" Ash carried on, squeezing Misty's hand tight. Misty's hand twitched, but nobody noticed. But straight after, Misty moved her finger slightly. "Brock, Jo! She just moved her finger I swear! Misty, come on, please keep at it!" Ash said as Brock and Jo rushed to the side of the bed. "Come on Mist, please do it again!!! Show Jo and Brock I'm not kidding" And with that, Misty's finger surely moved. Jo gasped. "That's it Misty! Just keep at it, and please open your eyes! Please!!!" Jo begged. Misty stayed still a few moments, before her face twitched. "Misty, just keep on trying, you're nearly there!!!" Ash begged also. After another twitch, her eyes slowly began opening. "Misty!!" Ash exclaimed before practically leaping on her and hugging her. (Look, nothing else in the AAML department... yet ^_~) Misty just stared straight forward for a moment, before breaking down into tears. "Hey come on... what's up?" Ash asked. "I... I really thought I had gone again..." Misty sobbed into his shoulder. "I know, we thought you had for a while... come on, quieten down..." He replied. After a couple of minutes of calming Misty down, Brock went to fetch Dr Barton and the antidote. "Misty, the antidote's ready now, so we had been waiting for you to wake up again." Jo said to Misty as Brock left the room to fetch Dr Barton. They returned a few minutes later with the antidote. "So you're awake again? How are you feeling Misty?" Dr Barton asked "Not too bad, I'm not tired anymore, but don't feel much better..." Misty replied "Okay, that's fine. Now this is going to hurt quite a lot Misty, as we have to inject it straight into your bloodstream in your arm." Dr Barton explained as he injected Misty with the antidote. She winced as pain seared through her arm as the needle pierced her skin. "This antidote should take immediate effect, so you should feel better within half an hour." Dr Barton reassured as he left the room. *~*~*~*~* 3 days later Misty had just finished signing the discharging papers, after making a speedy recovery due to the antidote. Brock had gone to the Magnet train station the day before to book tickets to get back to New Bark Town. Ash, Jo and Brock were gathering her belongings together while Misty packed them on her bed. Misty had noticed Pichu's Pokéball at the bottom of her bag, and had decided to tell Ash about her Pichu. Ash was quite surprised at this. "Misty, do you really have a Pichu?" "Yeah, why?" "It's just... not a Water Pokémon." "Togepi isn't either Ash..." "I guess. How did you get hold of it anyway?" "My sisters went to New Bark Town about a month ago to pick up some water Pokémon from Prof. Elm, and he sent me a really young Pichu which had been abandoned or had lost her parents. Prof. Elm's aide found her outside Tohjo Falls." With the mention of Tohjo Falls, Pikachu's ears pricked up. "Anyway, about Pichu, I was wondering, could you come up with a nickname for her?" "Well, lets see her..." Misty released Pichu for Ash. Immediately she noticed Pikachu, and as it was an evolved form of itself, ran straight over to Pikachu for an acquaintance. "What a cutie!!!" Jo exclaimed "I second that" Brock added "Well, lets see... Can I pick her up?" Ash asked "Sure, just don't startle her. She'll not only shock you, but herself. Plus she packs quite a strong shock... especially for a baby..." Misty replied. Ash walked up slowly to Pichu who was jumping at Pikachu. Ash gently picked her up, but obviously startled her because: "Pi? Piii CHU!!!" And released a Thunderbolt attack on Ash, and itself. Ash dropped to the floor, Pichu still in his hands. Misty sighed. "Ash, I told you. Bring her over here so I can sort her out." Ash didn't move. "Ash, come over here PLEASE?" "I'm warning you..." Misty's temper was rising with Ash's apparent joke. "Grr... GET HERE NOW!!!" "Okay, I'm sorry!" Ash shot up and ran to Misty with Pichu, handing Pichu back to Misty. "Here Pichu, eat this berry, it'll make you feel better." Misty said feeding Pichu a Berry from her bag. "Well, at least the Misty I know is back!" Ash laughed "Excuse me?" Misty growled "I said at least you're back to normal" "Meaning in which way Ash Ketchum?" "Umm..." "What he really means is that your temper's back to normal..." Brock aided Ash, shooting him a grin straight after this comment. Ash knew what was coming, so he began edging away. "Why you little... Ash Ketchum... get here- whoa!" Misty exclaimed as she shot up to chase Ash, but she fell right back down onto the bed as her legs gave way. Ash came straight to her. "You okay? I guess you'll have to take it easy for a while... you haven't walked for... 3 weeks now!" "I guess... 3 weeks?! I've been in hospital for 3 weeks?!" "Yup, a week and a bit in ICU in a coma, and the rest of the time in here..." "Oh my God!" Misty said wide-eyed. 'I can't afford to take it easy for a while if I want to make it to the Johto League this summer...' Misty scowled at the thought. "Are you sure you're okay?" "Yeah, fine..." Misty trailed off. "Come on then Ash, how about Pichu then?" She carried on while packing the leftovers of her items into her bag with her free arm. "Err, well..." Ash thought hard and screwed his face up in concentration "Heh, I don't think Ash's head's used to being used so much!" Jo joked. Ash just waved his hand at her, telling her to give up. "Ah! Got it!" Ash said suddenly "Yeah, go on..." Misty replied "Well, how about Daisy... wait no, that's your sister's name... come on... think Ash... hmm. How about Poppy?" "Aw, that's a nice name... thanks Ash!" Misty replied cheerfully. "Whoa, near enough first go..." Ash commented. "Well, that's all my stuff packed. What time is your train leaving back to New Bark?" Misty sighed, changing the subject. "Err..." Ash started "11:20." Brock finished for Ash. "Well, I guess we'd better get going to the station then, add on some extra time for Misty to come down with us..." Jo said "Hey, I'm not an invalid you know!" Misty retorted "Yeah, but not far off..." Ash murmured "So? It's not exactly if I'll drop dead on you..." Misty reasoned "No..." "Well, I don't have to give up so much time..." "Look Misty, if you're not careful, you'll end up back in hospital. Now please, just accept you'll struggle for a while. You nearly died on us too many times!" Ash pleaded "Don't remind me... Oh well. Come on then..." Misty cringed, getting up slowly. Ash carried her bag for her as she slowly made her way out of the door, Jo and Brock right behind in case her legs gave way. As they were walking out of the room, Joy noticed them, and beckoned them over to the desk. Misty leant on the table when she got there to rest her already tired legs. "Okay Misty, you're free to go, Ash said you're off back to Cerulean, so if you want I'll phone the hospital and inform them that you'll need frequent check ups..." Joy offered. Misty looked behind her, and noticed Jo. "You should tell her that you're not off back to Cerulean. I'll take Ash to look at the notice board or something to get him out of the way..." Jo whispered in Misty's ear. Misty nodded her head. "Ash, come over here with me while Misty finishes talking with Joy..." Jo said, dragging Ash away. "Well, I'm not actually off back to Cerulean. I'm entering the Johto League, but I'm in training at the minute." Misty said quietly, leaning over the desk slightly. "So you're saying..." "I'm on the road with two others. Ash didn't know this..." "Okay, well you have to take it easy for a couple of weeks, and get plenty of rest. Say, travel at a steady pace, and get plenty of sleep. I'll phone the other Joys in Pokémon Centres to give you a check up and at some replace your plaster. You can't use that arm by the way, I think overall you've got around 10 broken bones in your arm and hand... at least." "Okay, well thanks, I will take it easy, and if I feel ill, I'll get to a Centre or hospital quickly." "Okay, and one more thing, I'll just go fetch you some medication Dr Barton wants you on..." Joy said, going off to fetch the medicine. Ash and Jo came back over. "Where did she just go?" Ash asked "She's gone to fetch some medication for me," Misty replied. Joy returned with 2 boxes of pills. "Okay Misty, Dr Barton said you must take a follow up to the antidote, just as a precaution. You need to be on these for a month, and take two a day, one in the morning, and one before your evening meal. The others are vitamin pills to get you back to normal quicker, and help your arm mend quicker, okay?" "Yeah, thanks." "One more thing, try to eat healthy food, and food that is high in energy such as chocolate, but don't pig on it!" "Okay, thanks a lot for treating me, I'm extremely grateful..." Misty thanked. Joy smiled. "No problem. It's our job. Go on, you'd better be off." Joy finished. "Okay, bye Joy!" Misty said cheerfully as they began walking to the exit. "Here Misty, I'll put those in your bag," Ash offered. Misty handed him the medicine. 5 minutes later, they were out of the hospital. "Okay, which way is it to the train station?" Ash asked. Misty sighed at Ash's dumbness. "That's one thing I actually miss from not travelling with you Ash." "What?" "The fact you're so dumb!" "Take that back!" "Nope. Anyways, the station's north of the city isn't it?" Misty asked Brock. "Yeah," "Okay, lets go then!" Misty said as she set off in the direction of the station. Ash Brock and Jo followed. "Whoa Misty slow down. Take it easy!" Ash nagged her catching her up. "She's going to be exhausted by the time we get to the station...if she lasts that long." Brock said to Jo. "Yeah... I hope she'll take it easy when she's travelling," Jo agreed quietly. 10 minutes later, about 20 minutes from the station... "Misty, you okay? You're slowing a bit..." Ash asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Misty answered. After about 5 more minutes of very slow walking, Misty's legs gave way. Ash sighed as Brock helped her up. "Brock, you be our packhorse and take our bags... Misty, get on my back." Ash said "No, I'm okay..." Misty said, and started walking again. After she fell again, Ash rushed to her, and after a weak protest, Misty ended up getting carried by Ash. "Ash, I'm not useless, I'm not disabled and I can walk. Just let me, please!" Misty said while pounding his shoulder weakly with her free arm. "No, you're not useless, you're not disabled, but you've proved to us you can walk...for about 10 minutes. Just face it, you're still quite ill, you're lucky you're out of that place..." Ash reasoned with her. "I guess, but if I don't try, I won't recover quicker, will I?" Misty retorted "Yeah, but going as you were before doesn't count. Just get it into your head, okay?" Ash finished. The remainder of the walk to the station was pretty quiet, apart from the odd moan or mumble of something by Misty. Ash put her down right outside the station, as they all had to get their tickets out to get onto the platforms. Misty got hers out of her jean pocket, as she had a pass due to the fact she was a gym leader. Ash had his in his bag, as did Jo and Brock. They went inside, and showed their tickets to the gatekeeper. After they got through, Ash and Jo went into the station shop to pick up some food and drink for their long journey. Brock stayed with Misty and found a seat out on the platform near the information screen. Ash and the other's train was due at 11:10, only it was 20 minutes late. Misty's 'train' was nearly an hour late (Now, if you are a fellow Brit, you will know perfectly well that 80% of trains are delayed by 10 minutes or more... here in Yorkshire, 60% are over 30 minutes late, now that's pretty crap... -_-) Ash and Jo joined Misty and Brock 5 minutes later laden with food for the 4 hour journey across central Johto. "So then Misty, what time's your train?" Ash asked "Well, it's supposed to be here at 12:05, but it's 50 minutes late, and yours is 20 minutes late." Misty replied "God, so we'll arrive in New Bark at about 4:00 this afternoon...how long is your train journey Misty?" Ash asked (again) "My train's an overnight train... We'll get to Johto/Kanto border at about 7:00, and stay overnight, as we have to be checked over by customs and so on... that's 6 hours, and then it'll take a while to be checked... so we sleep the night on the train, and set off to Cerulean at 7:30 tomorrow, and we're set to arrive in Cerulean at about 12:00 tomorrow." "God, I wouldn't be able to last that long... 24 hours on a train?" Jo moaned "Me neither..." Brock agreed. The next half hour while waiting for the train to arrive mainly consisted of small talk, and Pikachu, Togepi and Poppy playing together under the chairs. Finally, 25 minutes late, their train arrives. Seeing as it had to be cleaned before its next journey, Ash and co waited on the platform until the train was about to leave. Brock had taken the bags onto the train just before, and was just coming back off the train. "Well, I guess this is it." Misty sighed "You will be coming back soon, right?" Ash said hopefully "I'll come back once I've recovered and finished my time at the gym," Misty lied. She went up to Brock. "Well, take care of yourself, and Ashy-boy for me, okay?" Misty asked. Ash scowled "Of course. As if I hadn't been before... and take care of yourself, don't push yourself too hard." Brock said the latter quietly so Ash wouldn't hear. "I will, don't worry Brock!" Misty laughed. Jo was next. "Well, I guess it was a bit of a weird reunion, but I guess we're back together..." Misty said to her once soul mate. "Yup, you said it! I was half without you Misty! I'll miss ya..." Jo replied. "Okay, me too." "And go and thrash the rest of the Johto gyms, okay? I'll see ya at the League, k?" Jo added quietly. "Okay. You entering?" "Depends on how much training I do..." Jo said mysteriously. Finally, it was Ash's turn. Misty turned to him. "Well, we're off our separate ways again..." Misty said to him. "I guess. You be careful okay? I don't want to return to Cerulean and visit you in hospital okay? Take care of yourself." "Stop worrying about me, and take care of yourself Ashy! Keep up your training too." Misty dismissed his last sentence sadly. "I'm gonna miss you..." Ash started. Misty started to get teary eyed. "Me too..." Misty replied. After the two stared at each other for a second, Misty flung her arms around his neck, and hugged him. Brock silently cheered behind the pair, and Jo just grinned. The train conductor blew the final boarding whistle. Misty let go of Ash. "Well, I guess I'll see you some time." Misty said. "Soon?" Ash asked "As soon as possible, like I said as soon as I've recovered, and after I've served as a gym leader for a while..." "Don't forget- 1st August, Johto League begins!" Ash hinted. "I haven't forgotten... go on. You'd better get on!" Misty replied, smiling. "Don't forget to call me!" Ash reminded. "I'll phone you every day!" And with that, the doors were shut on the train, and Ash Jo and Brock came up to a table by a window. As the train set off, they waved to Misty, who was waving back, and so was Poppy, who was balancing on her plaster. They carried on waving until the train had gone out of view. Misty sighed. "Well Poppy, that's it. Now we need to find out about Beth an Mark..." Misty said to Pichu, as she made her way out of the station. *~*~*~*~* Well, you like? Probably not, and if it's a little bitty, like not all linking up, well, that's the outcome of many events going on in between, listed at the beginning. I've tried to sort it, but that's the best I can do. Please, read and review, and one last message: ~*MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!!!!*~