PROLOGUE

	"Are you coming Misty? You're going to make us late again! You know how 
much my mom hates waiting!" Ash yelled up the living stairs of the Cerulean Gym
	"Your mom doesn't mind it as much as you say. Besides, 
I'm almost ready." Misty looked herself over in the mirror. 
She had just finished fixing her hair in her favorite way. 
She ran her fingers through the long hanging hair and 
through the small amount in a ponytail that hung over her 
straight hair. She walked away from the large vanity mirror 
and walked into her walk-in closet. She reached for blue 
tank top, pair of black leather pants, black high-heeled 
shoes, and a Dodge Viper necklace. After she put on her 
clothes she quietly walked down the steps to where Ash, 
Brock, Tracey, and Richie were all waiting for her. 
	The four boys were talking to Misty's three sisters. 
The girls were acting all crazy trying to get a laugh out 
of the four. They all stopped their act when they saw Misty 
walk down the steps.
	"Oh look, it's the slut!" Daisy shouted as she saw 
Misty reach the bottom of the steps.
	"What!" Brock quickly turned around to see if what 
Daisy had said was true, hoping that he could finally get 
some.
	"I'm not a SLUT Daisy! Lily is."
	"Guys, do you thing she plays the part of a slut 
well?" Violet asked the four stunned boys.
	"Yeah."
	"Yeah."
	"Yeah."
	"Yeah."
	"Thanks a lot guys! You know for that you guys aren't 
going to get any action from me tonight." Misty folded her 
arms across her blue tank top and waited for a response.
	"I didn't know we were going to." Ash replied, as he 
looked her over.
	"Why are you wearing those clothes? The black leather 
pants, blue tank top, black high heeled shoes…you look like 
Stephanie McMahon in Wrestle Mania 18."
	"Yeah Misty, you're only fifteen. Don't get me wrong, 
you look hot and all but-"
	"What?" Ash questioned Richie's comment
	"What's wrong with you Ash? You jealous?" Tracey asked 
nudging Ash as he beat his arms away.
	"Aw, you're jealous Ash? That is so cute." Misty 
teased with a baby tone.
	"I'm not jealous!"
	"This is fun to watch you guys fight, but you really 
have to get over to Ash's house before his mom kills you 
all."
	"OH! You're right Lily!" Misty bolted towards the door 
followed by the four boys who jumped over the back of the 
couch. Brock reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. 
	"Hurry up!" Misty yelled down the hallway while 
holding the door open for the four to run through. She 
followed the others to Brock's brand new blue Ford Mustang 
GT. Ash opened the door for the other three to jump in the 
back seat. He held it open for Tracey and Richie and waited 
for Misty to get in the back.
	"Hey! What are you doing?" Ash demanded as Misty sat 
in the right side front passenger seat.
	"If you were a proper gentleman you would let me sit 
in the front."
	"Let you? You just sat down!"
	"Shut up and get in!" Richie grabbed Ash's arm and 
pulled him in the back seat. Misty grabbed the doorframe of 
the car and pulled the door shut.
	"Guys real quick, top up or down?" Brock asked
	"Up! I don't want my hair to get crapped up!" Misty 
replied
	"You mean it's not already?" Ash asked from the back 
seat
	"Ash please. You're leaving tomorrow to go live at 
Indigo Plateau, I don't want our last evening together to 
be all about fighting." 
	"What do want it to about?" Tracey asked her
	"Anything but fighting. Ash, I just want to get along 
for once. Please?" she begged while running her fingers 
through her straight hair.
	"All right." He replied.

	The rest of the twenty-minute car ride was quiet. Not 
one person spoke after Misty begged Ash to give her a 
peaceful night. The only sounds made in the car were of the 
three in the back once they saw Ash's house.
	"Thank God, we can finally get out o this back seat!"
	"What's wrong with the back seat?" Brock asked as he 
turned the steering wheel to pull into the driveway.
	"It's not that comfortable with three people. 
Especially when they are our ages."
	
	Brock finally stopped the car and put it in PARK. 
Misty reached her hand that was already out the window over 
to the outer door handle. She pulled it up and pushed the 
door open with her right hip. Before walking to the house 
she reached down to the side of the seat and let the 
backrest slide forward for the three to get out. She closed 
the door and headed for the house, followed by Ash.
	"Hey, Mist?"
	"Yes?" 
	"Can we talk? Out here?"
	"I guess." Misty stopped walking and sat down on a 
rock beside the cement path. She stared up at the stars 
while Ash sat next to her.
	"You know that I'm leaving to live at Indigo tomorrow, 
right?"
	"Yeah I know." She looked away as she wiped a tear 
that was trailing down her cheek.
	"I know that I've been…well…cold lately. It's because 
I don't want to leave you guys. Now instead of it just 
being you, Brock, and me, it's now me, you, Brock, Tracey, 
and Richie. I don't want that to stop. I don't want us to 
loose our friendship."
	"Do we even have friendship Ash?" Misty asked looking 
into his deep brown eyes. "We don't seem to get along 
anymore."
	"I know and I know why."
	"Why then?"
	"Misty, I'm always wrapped up in things I can never 
win, but you are, I guess the antidote that gets me by. 
What I really mean to say is I'm sorry for the way I am. I 
never meant to be so cold. I just never really wanted you 
to see the screwed up side of me that I keep locked inside 
of me so deep that it always seems to get to me. I never 
really wanted you to know so many things you should've 
known. I never meant to be so cold; I'm sorry for the way I 
am."
	"Ash, what does all of this mean?" 
	"It means that…Misty…I lo-"
	"Hey guys! Come on! The food is getting cold and you 
mom is getting pissed!" 
	"Richie! I told you not to say that word!" Mrs. 
Ketchum walked up behind Richie and hit him upside the head 
with a wrapped up loaf of bread.
	"Misty…I-"
	"Now!" Tracey yelled out the door.
	"Come on, I'll tell you later."

	The group all sat in the living room and talked about 
old times while they ate.
	"So Misty, what do you think was the most embarrassing 
moment that happened when you traveled with Ash?" Brock 
asked as he took a bite out of his chicken leg.
	"Well, I guess it would have to have been when you and 
Ash were making fun of me for my makeover."
	"Was that the same place where Ash dressed up as a 
girl?" Brock asked.
	"Yeah." Misty replied softly
	"Ash dressed up as a girl? I bet Misty hated having 
competition!" Richie yelled as he chewed his piece of 
chicken.
	"I didn't hate it Richie, I actually, sort of admired 
Ash for doing all of that just to get a badge. It was 
something he loved so much that he took the…well…awkward 
steps."
	"What part did he love so much, the badge or the 
dressing up?"
	"Richie, SHUT UP! He's leaving tomorrow for the love 
of God!"
	"Oo, someone's sticking up for her boyfriend." Tracey 
snickered to the others
	"So, what are you two going to do before Ash leaves?" 
Richie asked grinning
	"Shut the hell up Bitchy Richie." Misty replied
	"SLUT!" he replied in her ear. "Yeah, you're a SLUT! I 
bet you're going to give Ash a proper good-bye aren't you 
SLUT? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about-" before he 
could continue saying those things to Misty she poked him 
in the groin with her sweet corn. "OH MY GOD!" Richie 
screamed with a high-pitched screech. "You SLUT! I bet 
you're hoping that Ash does that to you tonight! SLUT!"
	"You CREEPY LITTLE BASTARD!" Misty stood up and 
grabbed Richie by the collar of his green jacket. She stood 
him up from the couch and threw him through the swinging 
screen door and onto a pile of decorative rocks across the 
cement path.

	A few hours later, they were continuing their 
conversation on most embarrassing moments.
	"So, Richie, what was your most embarrassing moment 
while traveling with Ash and Misty?" Tracey asked with a 
grin on his face.
	"Shut up." Richie said with a scratchy voice. He was 
holding an ice pack over his groin, another on his forehead 
and another on his elbow.
	"Oh my goodness, look at what time it is! Ash you need 
to get to bed! I'll set up the two guest rooms for the rest 
of you." Mrs. Ketchum ran up the stairs to the upper level 
where the other rooms were.
	"I guess, I have to go to bed." Ash said sadly.
	"We're all going to be here tomorrow morning Ash." 
Misty said walking towards him.
	"Misty will be in your bed tomorrow morning." Richie 
said still with a scratchy voice.
	"Let me rephrase Ash. We will all be here tomorrow 
morning except for Richie, who will probably wake up in the 
middle of a ditch ten miles away."
	"What!"
	"Shut up Richie!"
	"Okay." Richie put his hands up and slowly sat back in 
his chair.
	"ASH! Come on!" Mrs. Ketchum yelled from upstairs.
	"Good night Ash. Try to dream about our adventures 
that we used to have."
	"I will Misty. Good night."
	"Good night Ash."

	Misty sat up in her bed. She looked over at the clock 
and saw that it read three o'clock. She rubbed her eyes a 
few times and lay back down on the bed. Through the 
remainder of the night she thought about all of the 
adventures she had had with Ash and Brock or Tracey. One 
thing unparticular that she thought of was how she had lost 
Ash in Lavender Town. She remembered holding his head in 
her lap as he held his eyes closed. 
	Misty shook her head to get the memory of Ash's death 
out of her mind. Again she thought of an adventure but one 
that was funny or made her happy.
	At 5:30 Brock walked into her room to get her up. 
Before he said anything he saw her looking up at the 
ceiling. Slowly and quietly he closed the door behind him 
and sat on the edge of the bed.
	"Misty, did you sleep last night?" 
	"No." she replied without any feeling
	"Not at all?"
	"Not at all. I couldn't sleep knowing that I'm not 
going to see my best friend for who knows how long. I don't 
want him to leave Brock."
	"Because you have feeling for him?"
	"What?"
	"I know Misty. I've seen the way you look at him when 
he looks the other way. For me, it's obvious that you care 
for him."
	"I don't want him to leave Brock. Not yet. Not ever." 
She leaned over to Brock and rested her head on his 
shoulder.
	"I know you don't but this is Ash's dream. You have to 
realize he's wanted this before he even met us. You have to 
let him do it. You have to let him go Misty. There are 
hundreds, millions of boys out there who would love to be 
with you."
	"I can't. I can't love anyone except Ash."
	"Misty, I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm 
sure Ash will meat some girl in Indigo Plateau. He'll move 
on, find a girl he loves, and they will settle down and 
raise a family. Misty, you can't always dwell on dreams, 
not all of them come true."
	"But Ash's did."
	"Yes it, and we should be happy for him."
	"I am happy for him, but I'm not happy that he's 
leaving me. I may never see him again, except for 
occasionally on TV. I don't want to live without him."
	"What?! Misty, you can't kill yourself because Ash is 
leaving!"
	"Brock, being with Ash, it turned me into what 
everyone in Cerulean City would call a Poke Raider."
	"A Poke Raider?"
	"Yeah, a girl who is all action. She climbs mountains, 
fights, runs through forests, and swims through rivers, a 
girl who was adventures. To me it's a lifestyle. Without 
Ash, how can I do any of that?"
	"MISTY! RICHIE! BROCK! TRACEY! COME DOWNSTAIRS FOR 
BREAKFAST!" Misty and Brock easily heard Mrs. Ketchum yell 
up the stairs.
	"Come on Misty." Brock left the room while Misty got 
dressed. After five minutes she walked down the steps. Ash 
looked up at her as he sat on the couch. He saw her eyes 
were blood shot. He could see the light glimmering off of 
her eyes. On her white t-shirt he saw small water drops 
soak in.
	"Hey Ash." She mouthed as she walked past him. As she 
walked by she fingered her long orange hair behind her ear. 
She walked out of his sight as she curved around the wall 
and into the kitchen. 
	"Misty, what's wrong?" Mrs. Ketchum whispered. Ash 
stood up and snuck up to the wall so he could hear the 
conversation.
	"I'm happy for Ash that he's a Pokemon Master. But I 
don't want him to go. I don't know what to do with my life. 
I don't want to be a water pokemon master anymore. I just 
want to go and have adventures like we used to. I'm never 
going to see him again."
	"Misty, you'll see him again."
	"They don't let anyone see the Pokemon Master. You 
can…only see him when he battles or if you're lucky enough 
to see him walk down the street."
	"Ash will come and visit you."
	"No he won't. He'll be to busy."
	"I'm sorry Misty. Maybe you should tell Ash how you 
feel."
	"I can't. If I tell him, he won't leave."
	"I thought you didn't want him to leave?"
	"I don't. But I want him to live his dream. I'm not 
his dream, being a Pokemon Master is, and I have to let him 
go no matter how much I don't want to."

	Ash didn't see Misty for the rest of the morning. He 
finally saw her as the everyone packed Ash's small baggage 
into the back of Mrs. Ketchum's steel blue Ford Windstar. 
She never made eye contact with him. She hadn't spoken 
since she had the talk with Ash's mom. Right now he was 
wishing he had not heard the conversation. He didn't want 
to leave but he wanted to live his dream.
	"Okay everyone, I think that's everything." Mrs. 
Ketchum said sniffling and wiping a tear away from her 
eyes.
	The group all got into the van. Ash sat in the front 
seat along side his mom. Richie sat alone in the middle row 
and Tracey and Brock sat in the back with Misty in the 
middle.
	As they made their way through Viridian City the van 
fell silent. Everyone was looking out the windows at the 
scenery. Many times Ash looked in the rear view mirror and 
saw Tracey with his arm around Misty. Tears were falling 
down her cheeks; her eyes were even redder. Her face showed 
out the most in the van. It showed a red tint from all of 
her crying. Finally Richie took off his seat belt and 
turned around to look at Misty. Ash was afraid that he 
would make fun of her, but instead Richie switched places 
with Brock who was now sitting in the middle row by 
himself. Richie had his arm around Misty and was whispering 
into her ear. A few times he wiped the tears away from her 
eyes. She rested her head on his shoulder as he laid his 
head upon hers still talking to her. Tracey was watching 
the two and slid over and kissed Misty on the cheek. Before 
he slid back over to the window he pulled a group of stray 
hairs away from her face and pulled them behind her ear.
	Ash looked over to his mom who was also beginning to 
cry as she watched as Misty suffered. Mrs. Ketchum kept 
wiping her eyes so she could see the road.
	At last they reached Indigo Plateau and Ash's new 
home. It was a four-story mansion that covered about ten 
acres. On the sides were beautiful gardens and chairs and 
benches were scattered through. 
	Mrs. Ketchum opened up the back so they could grab all 
of Ash's things. Misty reached in to grab a bag but Tracey 
grabbed it instead and gave her a smile to make her feel 
better. The ones who were carrying Ash's stuff were stopped 
by ten butlers who personally saw to it that Ash's bags got 
to his master bedroom.
	"Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum."
	"Hello Master Ketchum, my name is Benjamin." Replied 
the head butler.
	"Hi Benjamin. This here is my mom and my four friends 
Brock, Richie, Tracey, and Misty."
	"Excuse me sir but you said four friends. I believe 
you meant three."
	"No I mean four."
	"Beg your pardon sir, but I only see three."
	"What, who's-"
	"It's Misty." Tracey replied while looking down at the 
tan path.
	"Where is she?"
	"She's sitting in the garden on the bench." Brock 
replied
	"How would the rest of you like a tour of the 
mansion?" asked Benjamin
	"Okay." They all replied sadly.
	Once the others walked into the house, Ash headed to 
the garden where Misty was slouching on a bench with her 
hands covering her face. He walked on the tan path through 
the massive garden. He stopped along side the bench where 
Mist was.
	"Hi Mist."
	Misty pulled her hands away from her face and looked 
up at him. A stream of tears was flowing down her face and 
onto her t-shirt. "Hi." She said softly
	"Can I sit down?"
	"Yeah."
	Ash sat on the wooden bench and looked out at the 
green gardens.
	"What's wrong Mist?" he asked
	"I'm just happy for you, that's all."
	"That's not it."
	"I'm broken Ash. When I'm alone, I feel like dying. I 
don't know how to go on without you. I don't know what I'm 
going to do with my life."
	"What's wrong with being a water pokemon master?"
	"It's not with you."
	"Misty I have to be truthful. I heard you and my mom 
talking this morning."
	"Did you hear everything?"
	"Yeah. I know that you don't want me to leave."
	"Ash, forget about me. Being here may be the best 
thing for you. You'll probably find a girl, fall in love, 
settle down, and raise a family."
	"No I won't." 
	"What?"
	"I won't." Ash leaned over and stared into Misty's 
aqua blue eyes. "I won't fall in love with any." He leaned 
over some more until he was just two inches away from her. 
"I only want to fall in love with you…and I already have." 
Ash and Misty both leaned over and shared their first kiss.

	"About time." Tracey said as he looked out of the 
large picture window over looking the garden.
	"What?" Richie ran up to the window and looked out. "I 
always knew that Ash would get a girl before me."
	"I just hope he stays." Mrs. Ketchum said from behind.
	"Whoa, you can't see this." The boys all stood in 
front of the window to block her view.
	"I know how Misty feels about Ash. And apparently he 
feels the same way about her. I just don't know how she is 
going to get him to stay."

	Ash and Misty finally broke their kiss. They parted by 
only a few inches and looked deep into each other's eyes.
	"I love you Ash."
	"I love to too. That's why I'm not staying."
	"What? Ash you have to stay. This was your dream."
	"You're my dream Mist."
	"Ash, you have to. You always wanted to be a Pokemon 
Master and now you are one. I'll always love you Ash. I'll 
only love you."
	"How long until we see each other again?"
	"I don't know. I can only see you when you battle. 
Maybe a few years but I will always send you mail. I'll 
email you everyday."
	"Okay Mist."
	"Ash, I know it's best for you."
	"I'll trust you. I'll stay."
	"I love you Ash Ketchum."
	"I love you Misty Waterflower-Ketchum."
	"What?"
	"I want us to live our lives together once I'm 
finished being a Pokemon Master."
	"I'd like that."

	One hour later, the group had to leave. Ash waved to 
all of them, waiting for the day when he could see Misty 
again. 
	
Author: Yeah, I know. Not Resident Evil stuff, but trust 
me, this is needed. Next chapter is when everything turns 
EVIL!