As Ash and Misty walked off the dance floor, they were being spied on by Brock. Brock watched as they both walked away from the festivities and toward the water of Route 21, south of Pallet. Ash stopped as he neared the edge of the water and sat down, Misty doing the same, next to him. It was now nightfall, the twinkling stars in the night sky as clear as crystal. A cool breeze blew by as Misty looked out at the darkened water reflecting the bright dots upon the sky.
"It's so beautiful here at night." Misty said, gazing out at the water.
"Yeah, sometimes I come out here to...think." Ash replied as he, too, admired the scenery in front of him. Brock grinned as he watched the two.
"Lucky guy." He said as he walked off to leave them in private. Ash took his eyes off the water and glanced over toward the beautiful creature sitting beside him.
"Sure is beautiful..." He said, almost dreamily.
"I know..." Misty replied, still gazing at the water.
"I wasn't talking about the water." He said, without thinking, now staring at Misty. Misty looked at him a bit surprised, the slightest tint of pink fell upon her cheeks. Ash finally realized what he had just said and quickly turned his face away, his wide-open mouth covered by his hands, eyes wide, heart beating crazy and furiously blushing. Misty simply smiled as she placed a hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash gulped and let out a loud squeak, too frightened to look back at her.
"Ash..." Misty started, speaking in a gentle tone. Ash slowly turned around to face her, seeing her smiling out of the corner of his right eye.
"That was, by far, the nicest thing you've said to me. Nicer than what you said on the phone." Ash began to turn around some more, slowly forming a nervous smile.
"Thank you, Ash." Misty said, slowly moving in, to place a gentle kiss on his cheek when Ash stopped her.
"Wait, Misty..." Misty stopped, and moved back.
"Ash, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"
"No, it's not that, I just need to tell you something." Ash turned himself around fully, now making eye contact with Misty.

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked. Ash couldn't stop himself from shaking, and took a deep breath.
"Well, ever since I met you, I've always seemed to get into a fight with you, but...what I said and what I did before, I'm sorry, I didn't mean those things. I was just...covering something up that I've felt for a long time." Misty had a confused look on her face, unsure of what he was getting at. Ash gulped again, summoning all his strength up for one sentence. "Misty,...I...I...I..." Ash couldn't finish, he felt himself shaking so badly, his breathing also becoming shaky, when Misty tenderly placed her hand upon his. He looked up at her, slowly shaking his nervousness off. He took her hand into both of his then.
"Misty, I love you!" Ash looked into her eyes to see the most intense expression of fear on her face. Ash wasn't sure of what to say now, but looking at Misty's face made him want to dig a hole and crawl in it.
"Ash..." Misty spoke, her eyes wider than ever, but they began to fill up with tears. Ash looked at her, confused, unsure of what she was thinking of him right now.
"Ash, you don't know how happy you've made me!" Misty exclaimed, the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.
"Then...why are you crying?" Ash asked, curiously.
"I'm sorry..." She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm just happy because...I've wanted to tell you I love you, too, Ash. I just knew there was something special about you since the first day I ever met you. And every day I felt more closer to you, and it made me happy that no matter how much we ever fought you never left me." Ash was stunned. Misty threw her arms around his neck, shaking just as much as he was now. Both of their hearts raced as they both knew to lean in, closing their eyes, their lips just about to meet each other when an explosion of smoke emanated from where the festivities took place. Thier eyes quickly opened, and looked toward the smoke. They got up quickly, looking at each other.
"You don't think it's..." Misty stopped.
"There's only one way to find out! Let's go!" Ash said with the same determined expression he made so long ago. He began to run over to where the explosion hit, Misty simply stood there and groaned. She sighed and began to run after him, keeping her balance.
"I just had to wear high-heels..." Misty mumbled to herself.