“Charmander, we need you!” The white light flashed from the pokéball in Ash’s hand and the fire lizard Pokémon appeared in front of him. Ash didn’t like using his Charmander, but Brock insisted on trying out a new recipe and they were out of matches. The Pokémon didn’t mind at all. He enjoyed being out of his Pokéball. He enjoyed it so much that Ash let out the others as well. The six Pokémon were thrilled.

“Alright, don’t go too far, and be back before those storm clouds get here! Charmander, don’t let your flame start any forest fires, okay? Be careful!” Each of them ran off into the woods and Ash smiled. They were a good team. The smell of sizzling peppers and stew drew Ash back to the fire and his friends. He eyed Misty as he sat down. They had walked a fair ways from the Pokémon center over the course of the morning, and the road led through a forest. They wouldn’t see anyone else, probably, for days. Misty had pretended as though nothing had happened. She still called him and idiot and yelled at him a lot. But Ash felt her bump into him from time to time, once she had even pretended to trip while looking back and talking to Brock. Ash had been forced to catch her, grabbing her arm and placing a hand directly on her chest. He had felt her nipple poking through her shirt at him. That wasn’t just coincidence. He knew she was doing something, maybe trying to get his attention or something. She looked up at him and smiled as he sat down, ignorant of his staring.

“Hey Ash, How long do you think it’ll take us to get through the forest?” He eyed her suspiciously. Misty never asked him that question.

“Probably a few days. I hear it’s pretty big, but the next gym is on the other side, so we’ve got no choice. I’m looking forward to it, honestly. We’ve been going through a lot of towns lately.” And it’ll give you and I time to figure this out. Misty smiled at him.

“You won’t miss sleeping in a warm bed? I know how much you love the Pokémon centers.”

“I like sleeping outside more.” Brock announced lunch and they ate, all eyeing the storm on the horizon. It came closer and closer as they ate.

Brock had seen Misty ‘trip’ and fall. He had even seen the awkward way Ash had been forced to catch her. He had been wondering when the two would figure it out, but then he thought them both too stupid to know anything of human anatomy. HE cooked lunch, chased hot girls and learned how to breed Pokémon. That was his job. These two were his friends, not his charges. If they wanted to try something, that was fine with him. But Brock knew they wouldn’t. Ash was too dumb; hell, he needed everything explained to him in terms Pikachu understood. And Misty seemed like she hated him. She still nagged him about the bike every once in a while, but Brock knew that Ash had already paid it off. At least he hoped so. Bikes could be fairly expensive…

Misty eyed the storm with glee. It was perfect, a chance to be alone in Ash’s tent all evening. Brock never shared a tent with them if he didn’t have to. Ash usually slept in a sleeping bag outside, and the others followed his example sometimes, But Misty already had an idea of how it would all pan out. And the clouds grew closer and closer…


When the storm hit, the seven Pokémon were safe in their pokéballs and in Ash’s bag.