Mist in the Moonlight


The moon hung in the black sky, casting its glow onto the Earth. Its shine was upon 
Viridian forest, bathing it in moonlight. A gentle zephyr twirled through the forest, enticing 
the leaves to dance, their music being the soft rustling they created. A small, beautiful lake 
was stationed in a large clearing, small waves splashing silently in the blackness of night. 
While many Pokémon slept peacefully in their homes, a few could be seen wandering the 
forest. On this particular night, however, the Pokémon shared their habitat with five other 
guests.

A tan-skinned young man was the first one to be noticed. His spiky brown hair was the 
immediate noticeable thing about him. Lying on his back, his right arm was haphazardly 
over his chest, the other was above his head. A goofy grin spread across his face, 
muttering the words, “Jenny” and “Joy”. He turned to his side, murmuring something 
incoherent. The second was a young girl, snoring softly in her red sleeping bag. Donned in 
light blue pajamas, with many water Pokémon embroiled on them. Her orange-red hair 
was out of its ordinary pulled-up state, having grown to her shoulder blades.  She lay on 
her side, her lips parting and closing as she slept. Her egg Pokémon, the third occupant, 
was lying next to her, curled up in her egg. The fourth was asleep in his trainer’s sleeping 
bag, his yellow fur rising up and down in his sleep, his lightning bolt tail curled around his 
body.

The final occupant, unlike the other four, was not asleep. He sat atop a large tree branch, 
his back against the tree, staring out into the sky. His right leg hung haphazardly over the 
edge of the tree, with his left at an angle on the branch. His forehead was furrowed, the 
chocolate brown of his eyes reflecting a look of deep concentration. His fingers were 
intertwined behind his head, pillowing his head from the tree.

He closed his eyes, and sighed. Why couldn’t he be asleep like his companions?

Opening his eyes, he already knew the answer. He glanced down at the red-haired girl. 
Misty. She was the reason he wasn’t joining them in their slumber. There was something 
about the girl that he couldn’t figure out. Everything about her intrigued him. How she was 
able to make him laugh one minute, and fighting furiously with her the next. How she 
believed in him when even he didn’t. How she made him work hard to be the best he could 
be. How she made him question everything he worked for in life.

And that confused him in itself. Why was he so interested in her? What was it about her 
that made him want to know more and more about who she was? She was his friend, he 
knew that much, but this seemed to go way too far to be just friendship. There had to be 
something more about their friendship that he didn’t get.

As he continued to observe her, he noticed she was slightly tossing and turning in her 
sleep. He could hear her slightly whimpering as well. He jumped down from his branch, 
regaining his balance before walking over to her sleeping bag. Kneeling beside her, he ran 
his hand through her soft hair. Slowly, her face calmed, and her whimpering ceased. Ash 
smiled.

“Don’t worry, Misty. It’s okay.” He whispered.

Slowly, a smile formed on her face.

Ash stood up, and, looking up at the tree, sighed. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to climb 
back up the tree. It was a pain the first time, and he wasn’t in the mood to do it again. He 
turned his attention to the lake, and, after a minute of consideration, made his way 
towards the watery domain.

He glanced at the lake as it came closer into his vision. It glistened brightly in the light of 
the moon and the stars. Taking a seat on one of the logs near the shore, he continued to 
admire it. He looked at it longer, when he realized that he recognized that glow 
somewhere. The shine in the lake…he had seen it before, but where?

“Ash?”

He looked over his shoulder to find Misty standing there. She looked confused.

“Misty, what are you doing up?” Ash asked.

“I could ask you the same thing, couldn’t I?” Misty responded.

“Yeah, I guess, but…” He paused as Misty took a seat to his left. “Why are you awake?”

“Well, I woke up and you weren’t in your sleeping bag, so I came to see if you were here.” 
She replied. “What are you doing up? Is something wrong?”

“I’m alright. I just have a lot on my mind.” Ash said, looking back to the lake.

“What’s up?” Misty asked.

“Well…” Ash looked up at the sky. He didn’t really feel comfortable talking to Misty about 
this, especially since it concerned her. His eyes stayed focused on the sky, aware of Misty’s 
gaze upon him. He wanted to change the subject, but he couldn’t think of anything to talk 
about. Staring at the stars, he instantly thought of something.

“You ever noticed how the stars look like Pokémon if you look really close?” He asked her.

Misty noticed this change of topic, but decided to play along…for now.

“Yeah. Sometimes, when I was little, I would look out my window at night and see water 
Pokémon in the stars.” She replied, looking up at the small specks of light in the sky. 
Slowly, she laid her head on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t mind. He didn’t.

Ash looked around, trying to find one. “Hey, there’s a Bulbasaur!” He pointed to a small 
patch of stars.

“Yeah, I see it. And there’s a Squirtle right next to it.” Misty pointed near the Bulbasaur 
constellation, where a small portion of stars were lined up, looking exactly like a Squirtle.

Misty looked around for more, when she saw a constellation. Immediately, she frowned, 
clinging slightly to Ash. Ash noticed this, and turned to face her.

“What’s wrong, Misty?” Ash asked. She responded by pointing up in the sky to a certain 
constellation. Looking up at it, Ash chuckled.

“Even if it’s just stars, you still don’t like bugs, do you?” Ash smiled. The stars showed an 
Ariados’ face.

“Well, it looks creepy…” Misty said.

“Well, it’s just a picture. Don’t let it get to you.” He said calmly, placing his hand on her 
shoulder.

She shrugged it off, looking annoyed. “I know…” She said stubbornly, removing her head 
from his shoulder.

Ash smiled, looking at how childish she was acting right now. It reminded him of when they 
were younger. Now that he thought about it, how long had they been friends? 4 years? It 
seemed that way, but it went by so fast. He tried, but he couldn’t remember most of the 
memories of his journeys.

“Maybe I took for granted some of the times we’ve had together.” He thought to himself, 
frowning slightly.

“Ash?”

Ash blinked to see Misty staring at him, her face slightly pink.

“Yeah, what is it?” Ash asked.

“Why are you staring at me?” She mumbled.

Ash suddenly realized the mistake he’d made while thinking. “I wasn’t staring!” He 
defended, waving his hands.

“Yes, you were! Why were you staring at me?” Misty asked again, a hint of annoyance 
evident in her voice.

“I wasn’t, I swear!” Ash exclaimed.

“Come on, Ash, tell me!” She retorted, standing up.

“Misty, what’s that?” Ash pointed behind her.

“What’s what?” Misty turned around, but didn’t see anything. No wild Pokémon, no Brock, 
no Pikachu, no nothing. Confused, she turned back to see Ash running away.

“ASH, GET BACK HERE!” She yelled, running after him. The chase lasted a good 5 minutes 
before Misty finally caught up to Ash. They were currently sitting on a small patch of grass, 
against a tree, on the opposite side of the lake. Ash had told her that he had seen 
something behind her, but it went away as soon as she had looked. He still hadn’t told her 
why he was staring, but Misty let it slide, under the condition that he went shopping with 
her in the next town they came to. Ash had agreed, but not entirely willingly.

“Hey, Ash?” Misty asked.

“Yeah?” He replied, looking down at her. She was to his right, her head on his shoulder 
again.

“What if I never followed you?” She asked, looking down.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Ash asked.

“Well, what if you never took my bike, and I never had to follow you?” Misty asked him.

“Well…I don’t know, actually. I do know that I wouldn’t have had as many headaches as I 
did.” He smirked.

Misty hit him on the arm. “That’s not what I meant, Ash, and you know it.” Misty scowled 
slightly, but also slightly playfully.

“Alright, I know. Well, I do know that my past adventures wouldn’t have been as 
interesting. Plus, you’ve taught me a lot of stuff these past years. Plus, I don’t think I’d be 
as far as I am without you, Misty. I mean, you’ve always helped me when I’m in trouble, 
and made sure I didn’t get overconfident. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Misty, and 
I’m glad I destroyed your bike.” Ash smiled.

“You talk like was a good thing you wrecked my bike.” Misty said, agitated.

“Well, wasn’t it?” Ash inquired.

“I guess. But when do you plan on paying me back for it?” Misty asked him.

“Soon, Misty, I promise.” Ash assured her.

“You said that 4 years ago.” Misty said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t found a place where they sell bikes.” Ash defended.

“Do you even plan on paying me back?” She asked him.

“Well, I don’t know, but…” Ash started.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You should pay me back for it.” Misty cut in, her voice 
slightly angry.

“But then, you’ll have to leave, right? Then we won’t be able to see each other anymore.” 
Ash said in a worried tone.

Misty’s face immediately softened, flattered by his words. “You…don’t want me to leave?”

“No. You’re my best friend, and it would feel weird without you.” Ash confessed.

Misty looked at him, surprised at what he said. He never got her a new bike because…she 
liked her being around? Slowly, she smiled.

“Ash, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She whispered.

“Well, it’s true.” Ash replied, slightly embarrassed.

“No matter what, Ash, we’ll always be friends.” Misty said firmly, looking up into his eyes.

“Yeah, I know, Misty.” Ash replied happily. Looking into her eyes, he recognized 
something: a dazzling light. It made him recall the glow in the lake he saw earlier. Now he 
remembered where he’d seen that shine before: it was in her eyes all along.

Misty smiled back, then laid her head on his shoulder again. They both gazed up into the 
starry night, content with the moment, when Misty pointed up.

“Hey, Ash, look at that star!” She exclaimed.

“Where?” Ash looked up to where she was pointing. Hanging in the sky, apart from all the 
others, was an exceptionally bright star.

“Wow, that star is really bright.” Ash noted.

“Why don’t we make that our friendship star?” Misty suggested.

“Friendship star?” Ash asked, confused.

“Yeah. That star will be ours. If we ever do have to leave each other, we can look up at it, 
and we’ll always remember each other.” Misty explained.

Ash grinned. “Alright. Just don’t lose it.” He joked.

Misty giggled. “Ash, how can you lose a star?”

“Well…there’s a bunch of stars, so we might not be able to find it.” Ash explained.

“But if it’s so bright, we should be able to find it.” Misty retorted.

“Well, it’s still our star.” Ash proclaimed, extending his hand to her.

“I agree, Mr. Ketchum.” Misty smiled. They turned their attention upward, continuing their 
sight-seeing of the sky, not noticing that their hands were still connected.

Eventually, Ash began to feel his eyes droop. Shaking himself awake, he stretched his 
arms, releasing his hold on Misty’s hand, deciding that they should head back.

“Misty, let’s go back to camp. It’s pretty late.” Ash suggested.

“It’s alright. I’m not really that sleepy.” She responded.

“If you say so.” Ash shrugged.

After about 10 minutes, he was really starting to get tired, so he decided it was time to go 
back, whether Misty liked it or not.

“Misty.” He whispered. No response. “Misty?” He looked at her face to see that she was 
asleep.


“Looks like she was more tired than she let on.” He thought, smiling. Carefully, he lifted her 
up bridal style, and began his trek back to the campsite.

As he carried Misty back, Ash stole a glance at her face. Bathed in the glow of the 
moonlight, combined with her hair down from its normal position, a sudden thought came 
to his mind.

“Wow, Misty looks really…pretty.”

Immediately, the thought processed itself into his mind, and a surprised look was 
plastered on his face.

“Pretty? Since when have I thought of her like that?” He wondered. He shook his head. 
“Must be from being awake so long.” He continued his way to the camp, but his eyes would 
always venture back to Misty’s face.

As he got closer to Misty’s sleeping bag, he noticed her tossing and turning in her sleep, 
and she was clinging to him, like a scared child holding onto her parents. Ash frowned. 
What kind of dream could she be having? Out of the blue, her face changed from scared to 
angry. He heard her mutter something, but he couldn’t hear it. Suddenly, she pulled out 
her mallet.

Ash was suddenly scared. “What is she-”

POW!

Ash stumbled about clumsily, gritting his teeth, his head seething in pain.

“Whatever she’s dreaming of, it’s a nightmare for me.” Ash thought, his head throbbing in 
pain.

Out of sheer pain, he staggered over to Misty’s sleeping bag, but felt his foot start to slip 
on something. Immediately, he closed his eyes, knowing he was going to fall. Clutching 
onto Misty, he began to turn his body so that he would land on his back, cushioning Misty 
from most of the fall.

CRASH!

Ash immediately shot his hand to his head, the pain in his head beginning to pile up.

“Ow…my head. Next time she has a dream, I think I’ll stay away.” He thought. He hadn’t 
been able to turn all the way, so they ended up landing on their sides. Ash on his left; 
Misty on her right.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, which resulted in his cheeks to begin reddening up. Misty’s 
face was a mere four inches away from his, her soft pink lips opening and closing in her 
sleep. He noticed the position they were in, and blushed even more. Their clothing was the 
only thing that separated their skin from each other, and their legs had intertwined with 
each other, resulting in them being extremely close.

A little too close for Ash’s comfort, as their bodies had pressed together when he’d 
grabbed her. Why did he have to grab Misty’s body so hard? Immediately, he felt his face 
become even redder, feeling a change in the lower area of his body. Stupid hormones! This 
wasn’t something he wanted to deal with right now!

Slowly, he tried to inch out of her grasp, only to have her scoot even closer to him, her face 
settling in the nape of his neck. He could feel her breathing on his neck, and he found it 
was getting harder to move away. He tried for 5 minutes to get away, all resulting in 
failure. He decided to just lie there, calm down, and await his fate.

“Maybe Misty will kill me quickly.” Ash hoped. He looked at her face again. He found that he 
liked how she looked when she was asleep. She looked so peaceful, so much calmer than 
she normally looked in the day. She looked like she didn’t have a care in the world, which 
Ash preferred over her usual, easily-tempered attitude. Slowly, he reached out and 
stroked her hair, feeling it against his hand. He knew that she was feeling content from 
the small sigh that escaped her lips.

Feeling sleepiness crawl upon him again, he decided to follow Misty’s example. After all, if 
Misty was gonna yell at him, he wanted to be awake to argue back. Wrapping his arm 
around her, he nestled himself down, forgetting that he was on the ground. Before 
nodding off to sleep, he heard Misty say something, so quiet, that he had to strain to hear 
what she said.

“I love you, Ash.”

Immediately, Ash’s eyes snapped open. His heart skipped a beat, before it started beating 
radically. He felt like his face was pale, yet it was even redder than before. Misty moved 
even closer, to the point where Ash had to lean back to avoid his lips making contact with 
her own.

He looked up into the sky, a look of shock and disbelief on his face. “This…this can’t be 
right. Misty…loves me?”

Suddenly, his memory banks switched to full power, and all thoughts concerning the girl in 
his arms came rushing to him, like water through a broken dam. Every time they had 
laughed together, every time they had cried together, all the times they had all-around 
been together, flashed before his eyes. Everything sped by him so fast, it was almost 
impossible for him to comprehend what he was seeing. It was like a train, going at full 
speed along the tracks, not stopping for anything, all of its cars carrying with it a different 
memory of Misty. He felt his heart beat speed up as he saw each memory flash before him. 
The time at Maiden’s Peak when he had seen her with her hair down for the first time. She 
had looked pretty, but his gut told him something more. The moment at Pokémon Tower in 
Lavender Town when he opened his eyes and saw Misty looking down at him. She looked 
happy; more than happy, actually. That time on Trovita Island, when Rudy had asked her 
to stay with him. She could’ve stayed with someone who would’ve made her happier than 
anyone could have, and yet, she stayed with him. Why? Was it because she loved him?

And then, his thoughts screeched to a halt. That last question stuck to him, unwavering 
and unwilling to leave.

“It was because she loved me…because she loved me…”

And then, in that moment, Ash realized why he was left awake tonight. In that moment, he 
realized why he felt like Butterfree were fluttering inside his stomach every time he was 
with her. Why he felt like his heart was soaring when she laughed. The reason behind his 
inability to talk when he looked into her Cerulean eyes. Why he felt like his legs were 
made out of lead and jelly every time she smiled, especially at him. At that moment, every 
single one of those mysteries was solved.

It was because he was in love with her. He loved Misty Waterflower. 

His face became blank, as a sudden realization dawned upon him. “Wait…I love her…and 
she loves me…so, what do we do?”

He looked back to Misty, and was surprised to see that she was no longer in the nape of 
his neck. Instead, her face was now only 3 inches away from his. However, that alone 
wasn’t the only thing that made him nervous. As close as their faces were, he noticed that, 
slowly, her face was moving closer to his. For some reason, he couldn’t move his head.

It might’ve been nervousness, but Ash knew that it was also because he didn’t want to 
move. The only thing he found he could do was part his lips.

Her mouth came closer, until he could feel her breath on his own mouth. He became more 
nervous. He thought about backing away again, but in his current position, he couldn’t do 
that. Maybe he could tilt his head up, or maybe he could try to wake her up, or maybe-

However, in a second, none of those thoughts mattered. At that moment, he felt his lips on 
hers for the first time.

He didn’t know how to feel. He had never thought about his first kiss. However…he kind of 
enjoyed it. The feel of their lips together; the way her lips tasted like strawberries and 
cream; he kind of liked it. A moment later, an obvious thought came to him.

“Wait…this is Misty. My best friend. I shouldn’t feel so nervous. I mean, it’s not like it’s a total 
stranger.”

With the knowledge from the revelation in mind, Ash slowly closed his eyes, and began to 
enjoy the sensations running through him. 

Unfortunately, everything good must come to an end, and for Ash, the new pleasure 
ended too soon. In a small, slow motion, their lips parted from each other.

Ash was completely stunned. His heart was beating at an incredible rate, his head slightly 
dizzy from what had just transpired. He felt so shocked, he didn’t notice the smile on 
Misty’s face, or the one that had found its way upon his own. With a small sigh, Misty 
leaned her head on Ash’s chest, right under his chin.

He slowly regained his senses, and looked down at her. He couldn’t see her face, only the 
top of her head. His smile never left him.

“Wow…that was…wow…so, this is what it’s like to be in love…”

And, he found it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. He thought it was all about gushy 
stuff and always saying mushy things to a girl. However, he found that it was pretty much 
the same thing as friendship, only on a much higher level. He could still treat her the same 
way; he could still argue with her; only, it would mean something behind it all.

During this thought process, he hadn’t noticed that Misty had turned to her left side, 
releasing her grip on Ash. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he leapt up of the ground. 
Before heading off to his sleeping bag, he turned around to face her. Misty snuggled 
deeper into her own, her lips curving upward into a small smile. Ash walked the short 
distance over to her sleeping bag. He knelt before her, and placed a soft kiss on her 
forehead.

“I love you too, Misty.”

xxxxx

Well, that feels better. I’m glad I did this remake. Made this story even better than it was 
before. Now, leave a review for me, would ya? It’s all I’m asking for after all my hard work.