Hello, everyone! QuartzClaw here!

I wrote this birthday one-shot for my friend QUEENSPELLER67! Happy (very, very late) birthday, Queen! I'm sorry it took me so long to write this, but I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

A Present for Misty

It was a winter day, Ash was feeling giddily happy as he walked down the snowy sidewalk. The black-haired boy was always the happy-go-lucky type, but his gleefulness had hit the maximum today. And it was for one reason, which was that it was a very special day today, and he knew how to turn it into the best day ever.

More specifically, it was Misty's sixteenth birthday, and he had picked out the best present possible for her.

Misty was a close friend of Ash's, but he had always found her somewhat difficult to please. His obliviousness often got on her nerves, she was always exasperated at his childish habits, and, most of all, she had a tendency to whack him on the head with her trusty mallet whenever he forgot something crucial. True, they were on excellent terms with each other, and were very close, sharing quite a lot of experiences, laughs, and the like, but sometimes, Ash wished he could do something extra-special, something even more extraordinary than usual for her.

And today, he was confident he was finally going to do just that. Yes siree, he, Ash Ketchum, and picked out the most absolutely perfect present Misty could ever hope for. He was sure of it! He had spent all of yesterday morning searching for the ideal gift.

(Flashback)

"Come on, come on, there has to be something. Anything!" Ash mumbled as he walked from aisle to aisle. "What can I get for Misty's birthday tomorrow?"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder, pointed to a box of chocolates.

"No, Pikachu," said Ash. "Not chocolates. Chocolates aren't that super-special, since anyone could give her those. Plus, tomorrow, for her birthday, she'll probably get a lot of chocolate, and cake, and..."

Ash's mouth began to water at the thought. He eyed the box of chocolates Pikachu had pointed out. Okay, maybe they won't be perfect for Misty, but he could buy them for himself, right? Soon, after he had paid the cashier, Ash had returned to his search, this time popping chocolates from the box into his mouth from time to time.

Finally, he sighed, and sat down on a bench off to the side. He had been at the mall for hours, checking every shop, trying to find what Misty would like. What's more, her birthday was tomorrow, something that didn't give him much time to search. But he was determined to anyways. He couldn't give up on his friend's birthday! No way! Never!

But at the moment, he was in a predicament, with only Pikachu soothingly patting his head reassuringly to tell him he would find something. So he decided to do the one logical thing to do at the moment. Call Misty and ask her.

Just as he was dialing the numbers, he stopped. Wait... but wouldn't that ruin the surprise? And what if she got mad at him for procrastinating buying her present until the day before her birthday? That wouldn't end too well...

Well, that meant he was down one option. What to do... what to do...?

He found himself dialing on his cell phone again, but a different number this time. He held it to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. Finally, someone did.

"Hello, Mom?" Ash said.

"Hi, Honey!" came the voice of his mother, Delia.

"Mom, can you help me with something?"

"Sure thing, Sweetie. What do you need?"

"Well, I'm looking for a birthday gift for Misty, but I don't know what to get her."

"Why don't you get her something she would like?"

"But Mom, I don't know what she would like!"

"Just think about the things she likes to do. Like swimming! You can get her something swimming-related!"

"What kind of swimming-related thing?"

"Hm... A beach ball? A rubber ducky?"

"...Um, I don't think that would work. Mom, do you have any other ideas?"

"She likes water Pokemon, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, I can catch a water Pokemon for her! But there aren't many water Pokemon in this area..."

"Oh, I wasn't saying you should do that. I meant you could buy her a huge plushie of a water-type! She might think it's sweet."

"But Mooooom! It would be too embarrassing! And besides, Misty isn't the girly-girl type, so she might not like stuffed toys!"

"But it'd still be sweet."

"But..." Ash sighed. "Thanks for the help, Mom."

"No problem!"

"Later."

"Bye bye, Sweetie!"

As Ash hung up, he thought about the idea of getting Misty a plushie. She might like it... but then again, she might not. Not to mention Gary would probably laugh at him for bringing a toy. He needed to find something else, but the plushie could be a last resort. Maybe he should call one more person for advice...

"Hello, Dawn?" Ash said when he called her on his phone, and she picked up.

"Hi, Ash! What's up?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you have any ideas for a birthday present for Misty."

"Ash, you're buying that NOW? But the party's...! Oh, never mind. It may be last minute, but at least you're trying."

"So, any ideas?"

"Hm... let's see, I bought her clothes she'll like, May bought her some sports stuff, and Leaf bought her a book on water Pokemon, so you can buy... I know! But her some jewelry!"

"Jewelry? But Misty's not into girly-stuff!"

"I know, but as long as you buy the kind she'll like, there won't be a problem! I mean, I know she doesn't like girly clothes, so I didn't buy her a dress or anything. Just something more her style. Trust me, Ash, every girl has some kind of jewelry she likes!"

"Hm. Fine, I'll go see."

And that was how Ash found himself in a jewelry shop. There so many shiny necklaces, earrings, bracelets and the like glittering in displays all over the place. Most were pretty expensive, though, and Ash doubted he could buy them. Well, there was always the plushie...

"Pika! Pikachu pika!" Pikachu pointed at a brooch.

"That one is... Pikachu, I can't buy that! That a thousand dollars! Man, how is so expensive? Must have a lot of gold or jewels on it."

Ash was about to give up, when something caught his eye. Sitting in the display case was a locket. It was in the shape of a shimmering blue Vaporeon, and hung from a silver chain. It was something that looked like it would suit Misty! It seemed perfect for her, as it wasn't overly gaudy, but still had elegance, and not to mention the fact that Misty loved water Pokemon as his mother had mentioned. The price was still expensive, but not as expensive when compared to some of the other choices, and it was still affordable.

"I'll take it!"

(End of flashback)

That had been yesterday, on Saturday. Today was Sunday, the day Ash was going to present that locket to his friend. It was in a small, white velvet case, and was wrapped in white wrapping paper with a blue bow of ribbon on top. Ash took it out of his pocket to admire it.

"Looks great, huh, buddy?" he said to Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder.

"Pika!" Pikachu said happily in agreement.

"Misty's going to love it!" Ash said excitedly. "I wish her birthday had been yesterday. That way, I wouldn't have had to wait so long to give it to her. Man, I want to just give it to her right now!"

Ash broke into a jog as he ran, not caring about the risk of slipping on ice as he headed for Misty's house. She would no doubt be having her birthday party there, and there was no way Ash was going to be late. Not this year. He was just so excited! It was the perfect day for Misty's birthday, and the perfect day to give her her present, as, despite it being winter, it wasn't chilly, and the sun was shining, the snow was sparkling, and there were a few Pokemon here and there, like a Murkrow flying in the sky.

He arrived at her doorstep, and eagerly rang the bell. He could hear music playing from the house. The party must have started. He hoped he wasn't too late. To his surprise, however, it wasn't Misty nor any of his other friends who answered. It was Violet, Misty's older sister.

"Hello, Ash," she said. "Like, are you looking for Misty?"

"Well, yeah. Can you call her?"

Violet laughed. "Sorry, Ash, but Misty is, like, not here right now. Daisy, Lily and I are having a party today, so she, like, got out of the house as quickly as she could. So if you wanna look for her, you should go search somewhere else. Oh, and, like, I have to go right now. Later, Ash!"

With that, she closed the door, leaving a very confused Ash at the doorstep. Daisy, Violet and Lily were having a party today? But... it was Misty's birthday! Wasn't she the one who had been planning to have her party? Bemused, he began slowly walking back the way he came.

"Today is Misty's birthday, right Pikachu?" Ash asked his little electric buddy.

"Pika..." Pikachu was puzzled as well.

Of course, Ash had checked to be certain that today was the right day about five times (he didn't want to be late like last year, since he had got the dates mixed up then), so he was quite sure he hadn't been mistaken. But then... where was everyone? Where was Misty?

The black-haired teen held up the small present in his hand so that sunlight fell on it. It looked so sparkly white, as if it were part of the snow. He'd been having fantasies about what his friend's reaction would be when he gave it to her, and each daydream had been a good one, since as he had worked so hard to find the perfect gift, he was absolutely convinced she would love it. But now, he had to find her. Maybe if he called her on her cell...

Suddenly, a Murkrow, possibly the same one Ash had seen before, randomly swooped in, snatched the small gift-wrapped box from Ash's hand, and flew off. Ash stood in stunned shock for a moment before realizing what had happened.

"Hey, wait! WAIT!" he yelled, running after it. It just continued flying forward, uncaring of the boy it had just robbed, who was frantically chasing after it.

"Pikachu, it's getting away!" Ash yelled through gasps. "Stop it! Use-! Wait, I can't have you use Thunderbolt! It might damage the necklace!"

Ash wracked his brain for a way, any way, to get the gift back. He couldn't afford to lose it. All that hard work would have been wasted, not to mention he would have lost what could potentially be one of Misty's best presents ever. But the Murkrow could fly, and it was flying away...

"Pika!" Pikachu, sensing its friend's distress sprung into action! He jumped off Ash's shoulder onto a nearby building. As fast he could, he climbed to the top and leapt off, right on top of the Murkrow.

"Murkrow!" the bird screeched, accidentally letting go of the box as it began falling, weighed down by the Pikachu on its back.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Ash called out, making it just in time to catch both Pokemon right before they hit the ground, tripping as he did.

He took a moment to regain himself as he sat up, gasping. He grinned.

"Thanks, buddy!" he said to Pikachu, who returned to his shoulder happily. "Now you,"—he turned to the Murkrow— "where's the thing you took from me?"

The Murkrow gave him a cold, annoyed look (which reminded Ash of Paul), and it ruffled its feathers indignantly, puffing up its chest and turning away.

"Hey, I asked you a question!"

The Murkrow still ignored him, but when he continued staring at it, it rolled its eyes and gave him an exasperated look.

"Krow krow, murkrow krow," it said. Ash turned to Pikachu, who translated.

"Chu chu, pikachu chu."

"What! You dropped it?" Ash exclaimed in horror.

The Murkrow shrugged (or what it could do that was closest to a shrug). "Krow krow mur."

"Chu chu pika," Pikachu translated.

"What! What do you mean, it's not your problem!"

"Murkrow murkrow, mur krow krow. Murkrow murkrow mur."

"Pikachu pikachu, pika, chu chu. Pikachu pikachu pika."

"Okay, fine. It is kind of our fault you dropped it, since it was Pikachu jumping on you that made you lose your grip. But still, do you know where it might have fallen?"

Murkrow lazily pointed its beak in the direction of a small alley that was between two buildings. There were trashcans and a huge dumpster there. Ash scowled at the thought that the gift might have landed in garbage. That wonderful present, soiled! At least it was wrapped in wrapping paper. He could always re-wrap it.

Ash made his way over there, with the Murkrow following idly behind in a disinterested sort of way, possibly with the faint hope of getting a chance to snatch the present back for itself. Ash peered around in the trashcans and dumpster and the ground as well, finally catching sight of the gleaming white box.

"There it is!" he said as he crouched down looking into a small space between the dumpster and the building wall. He reached out behind there, but failed to take a hold of it. Pikachu tried too, but it was too big to fit into that narrow space.

"Hey, Murkrow, think you could help?" Ash asked, turning back to the dark and flying type. But instead of answering his summons, the Murkrow just smirked, gave them a 'Nope. Later, suckers!' look, and flew off, leaving them to their own devices.

"Ugh, that little–!" Ash mumbled. He then stared after it as it became a smaller and smaller black dot in the sky. "You know, Pikachu," he said, "that Murkrow really reminded me of how Paul would act. Do you think he had powers to transform into a Murkrow or something, and it really was him?"

"Pika pikachu pi."

"You're right. Paul wouldn't just randomly steal something. But seriously..."

"Hi, Ash! Um, what are you doing there on the ground beside the dumpster?" Ash looked up to see one of his friends, Dawn, standing there, staring at him quizzically.

"Oh, hi Dawn!" Ash greeted cheerily in return. "Paul just– I mean, a Murkrow stole something from me and dropped it behind this dumpster." Ash went from his cheerful grin to frowning. "I really need it back, but I just can't reach it. And neither can Pikachu..."

"Pika..."

"Hey, maybe I can help." Dawn crouched down beside him and peeked in the narrow space. "Is it that small, white thing I see back there?"

"Yeah, that's it! Think you can get it?"

"Hm... I'll have to see." Dawn tried reach behind there, but gave up quickly. "Ugh, it's no use!"

"Have any ideas on what to do?"

"Hm... Oh, I know! I might be able to get it out!"

"How?"

"I'll need... a looooong stick."

"A stick? You're planning to just push it out with a stick?"

"Yup! Have one?"

"Well, there is that one over there..." Ash pointed to an old stick lying around in the alley. "But I don't see how that would work."

"Why?"

"Well... actually, I don't know." Ash thought for a moment. "It's just so simple. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because people often underestimate the power of simple solutions!"

Dawn took the stick, eying it a bit disgustedly, as it was dirty from being left outside for so many days. She then proceeded to push it into the narrow space, pushing the white box out from behind the dumpster. Ash hurried over to the other side of the dumpster, and sure enough, there it was! The white wrapping paper had become a little dirty yes, but other than that, it was safe! No more Murkrows to steal it away either!

"Thanks, Dawn, you're a life-saver!" Ash thanked as he walked back up to her.

"You're welcome! But..." She gazed at the box, frowning slightly. "That looks like a present. Who's it for?"

"Misty, of course!"

"Pika!"

"Misty? Oh, I get it. It's like an 'I'm sorry' gift, right?"

Ash looked at her confusedly. "Huh? No, it's her birthday present. Remember how I was buying it yesterday, and I called you for advice? Well, this here is what I picked out."

"Pikachu!"

"With Pikachu's help too, of course. Man, I had to wait all of yesterday for today to come so I could give it to her!"

"But... why didn't you just give it to her yesterday then?"

Ash stared. "Well, obviously because her birthday is today," he said. But he couldn't help but wonder how Dawn could have forgotten. She always remembered these little things.

"Yeah, but her party was yesterday," she said. "Wait, so you didn't know?"

"Yesterday? Yesterday? How could it have been yesterday? Her birthday's today!"

"Yeah, but didn't you get her text?"

"What text?"

"The text saying she was moving the party to Saturday! Her sisters were planning a party today, so Misty ended up having to move her birthday party to a day earlier. She sent us all texts on Thursday saying that. That's why I thought you had really delayed getting her a present when you called yesterday. Her party was that afternoon!"

"What?" Ash started feeling panicky. He had missed the party? But how? He hadn't received any texts! "What did Misty say when I didn't show up?" he asked, his mouth dry.

"Well, she was kinda upset... Okay, she was really upset. I thought you were going to come soon, so I kept telling her that I was sure you hadn't forgotten and were just running late. But when you didn't show, I couldn't think of why you wouldn't come! I thought maybe you couldn't find a present, and thought Misty would get mad, but that didn't really sound like you. And I couldn't understand how you could have forgotten if you had, since you'd only been talking to me on the phone just a few hours ago."

"But I didn't know!" Ash said frantically. "I never got any text! I didn't know! Oh man..."

"Well, if you didn't get a text, then I guess it's not your fault. But you should really find her and apologize and explain that to her. She's been pretty moody about the fact that you didn't come. I think she thinks you forgot."

"How could I forget, though?"

"That's why she was so upset."

"But... but...!"

"Don't worry, Ash," Dawn said sympathetically. "Maybe she'll understand once you explain. It's not your fault you never got the message."

"Yeah, I guess." Ash's anxiety still hadn't worn off. "But where is she, then? She's not at her house, and I don't know where to find her."

"No need to worry! I can—" Dawn suddenly paused, her eyes widening as she remembered something. "Oh wait, I can't help you look! I'm supposed to meet with May right now!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Dawn," Ash assured her with a smile. "I can handle it by myself. Besides, you've already helped me out a bunch! You go meet with May, and I'll take care of this."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! I have Pikachu to help me out too!"

"Pika!"

"Okay then... Later, Ash!"

"Bye!"

As Dawn left, Ash's hand went to his hair. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to find Misty?

"Pikachu pika Pikachu-Pi," Pikachu suggested.

"Yeah, I could call her," Ash said unsurely. "But you know Misty. When she's upset, she's so stubborn, she wouldn't even talk to you! Still, it's worth a try..."

Ash dialed the number, and held his phone to his ear. It rung for a while, but no one picked up. After trying twice more, he decided to text her instead.

Misty, where are you? he wrote. But there was no response. Either Misty didn't have her phone with her, or she was ignoring him.

Sighing, Ash put his phone back into his pocket. "Where should we look, Pikachu?" he asked his buddy.

""Pi..."

"That's right! The ice cream parlour!" Ash exclaimed. "Of course that's where she'd be! Who wouldn't?"

Pikachu gave him an exasperated look. That hadn't been what he said. And wasn't it too cold for ice cream, it being winter and all? But those questions didn't seem to be on Ash's mind, since he just went on ahead anyways.

"Hey, Misty!" Ash called out as he barged through the ice cream parlour doors.

The man behind the counter stared at him. He hadn't been expecting many customers today, and especially not a boy who was looking around the shop frantically, as if trying to locate something. The shop, however, was mostly empty, aside from a spiky-haired boy sitting at one of the tables.

"Hey," said Ash, going up to the ice cream man, "have you seen a girl with orange hair come in here?"

"No," the man answered. "You're not ordering anything, are you?"

"No, not really... Okay, maybe I'll have one small chocolate cone with one, no, two scoops, please." The black-haired boy sighed as he sat down on one of the stools at the counter. He was soon handed his order, which he paid for. But somehow, as he slowly licked his treat, it didn't taste as good. Maybe because he was still worrying about his current dilemma.

"Hey, Ashy-boy!" The spiky-haired boy who had been in the shop as well sauntered up to him, smirking.

"Gary!" Ash said, surprised. He hadn't realized it was him, as he had been so focused on locating Misty, that he'd failed to notice.

"So what are you doing here on this fine winter day? Other than trying to freeze your insides?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow at the fact that he was having ice cream during winter.

"I was looking for Misty," Ash answered through a mouthful of chocolate ice cream. "You know where she is?"

"You're looking for Misty?" Gary smirked. "Wow, Ash, you must have a death wish, trying to find her after you decided not to show up at the party yesterday!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Ash protested indignantly. "I never got any text! Dawn told me she texted everyone to tell them about the party-day change, but I never knew about it!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chimed in to support his claims.

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that," Gary drawled, lazily leaning against the counter. "You'd never forget someone's birthday, and especially not Misty's since she would beat you to a pulp if you did. Which is why I repeat: you must be crazy going to look for her when she's so mad at you."

"Well, I need to explain it to her, right?"

"You know how stubborn she is. She wouldn't listen to you until after she cools down. And last I saw her, she was nowhere near cool."

"Wait, when did you see her last? You know where she is?"

"Yeah, I think I know where she is," said Gary. "I'm surprised you haven't looked there yet."

"Where?"

"Ash, first answer this: if you're so desperate to find her, why did you decide to take a break and have ice cream instead of searching?"

"I'm not taking a break! I came here looking for her, but she wasn't here. Then the ice cream man asked if I was buying anything, so I said I was just to sound polite. And I was wondering where to look next while I ate."

"Ash, who in their right minds would have ice cream when it's so cold outside? It's like you're cold on the outside, but are making yourself cold on the inside as well!"

"Well, what about you? You're in the ice cream shop too. And the only reason people come here is to buy ice cream."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong!" Gary gave him a sly wink. "Two years ago, I discovered that they sell coffee and tea here during the winter. And trust me, it's the absolute best! No one else knows about it, so I'm the only one who gets to come here, relax, and enjoy my hot drink. Plus, I don't have to wait in the long cafe lines, unlike everyone else."

"Yeah, but what about Misty?" said Ash, not really paying attention to everything Gary had just said, since he was more focused on his current task at hand. "Where was it you saw her?"

"Can't you guess?" Gary smirked that arrogant smirk of his. "Where do you think Misty would be?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking!"

Gary gave his friend an obnoxiously smug grin. "Well, think! What's Misty's most favourite thing in the world?"

Ash thought for a moment. "Um... water Pokemon?"

"If it weren't Pokemon, then what?"

"Swimming, maybe."

"And where do people swim?"

"In water, obviously!"

"So where would Misty be?"

Ash looked confused. "Um, in water?"

"Close to water! Wow, you seriously need to work on your guessing skills."

"How does all that help, though?"

"Easy. Just look for Misty where there would be some kind of water. I doubt she'd go swimming in this weather, so probably not the pool. But where else is there water in this city?"

"Um, in sinks...?"

Gary sighed exasperatedly. "The lake, Ashy-boy!"

Ash's eyes widened. "She's at the lake right now? I gotta get there quick! Hang on, Pikachu, because I'll be running pretty fast!" He quickly gobbled up the last few bites of his cone. Before he ran out the door, he paused and looked back at Gary.

"Hey, why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" he demanded.

Gary shrugged impishly. "It was more fun making you guess."

"But you wasted so much time! She could have left while—"

"Like you said Ash, you need to get there as soon as possible, meaning you're wasting time by talking to me. Bye! I hope you survive!" Gary waved, ginning at his scowling friend. But while Ash hated how Gary had delayed him for so long for no reason, he still found some truth in what he was saying and hurried off.

Since it was winter, the lake had become completely frozen. Usually, when it was turned to ice, people loved coming to skate, but today, there was a warning sign saying the ice was unsafe since it wasn't very solid with the high risk of it breaking. And because of that, there wasn't anyone around, as the lake could be neither swum in nor skated on. No one there at all... except for one orange-haired person.

Ash arrived, huffing and puffing, his nose having turned pink from the winter chill. Even from a distance, he could see Misty's bright orange hair signalling him from by the water's edge. He quickly began jogging up to her.

"Hey!" he called out. "Hey, Misty!"

Misty turned at his voice, and stared for a second with shocked eyes. Then, instantly, she turned her back to him and briskly began heading for the opposite direction.

"Hey, wait up, Mist!" Ash yelled.

"Stop it, Ash!" Misty yelled back, quickening her pace.

"But wait! Just let me talk!"

"No! Ash, I don't feel like talking right now!" she shouted.

"Please! Misty!" Ash sped up, finally managing to reach her. "Wait!"

"Ash!" Misty shouted furiously, stopping to turn around and face him. "Look, I'm not in the mood, so you can come to me with your excuses later!"

"But Misty, just hear me out! I know you're mad, but I have a—"

"Mad?" Misty scoffed. "Why would I be mad? You just completely forgot about one of your best friends' birthday after repeatedly promising not to!"

"I'm guessing you're being sarcastic..."

"No kidding!" Misty crossed her arms. "You have some nerve showing up in front of me! Really, I'm not mad at you for forgetting, since you always forget everything; I'm mad you got my hopes up that for once, you won't forget about something important! You told me you wouldn't forget! You said it was your priority! You could have said something like, you would try to make it, but you just went ahead and got my hopes super-high!"

"But I didn't forget—"

"Oh!" Misty's temper flared up once more. "So you didn't forget? Well! So what was it that was so important you decided to skip my birthday yesterday, huh?"

"Misty, just listen—"

"No! You know what? I'm done listening! I tried so many times to be patient, but you crossed the line! You forget, and then try to make an excuse for it? Ugh!" With that, Misty began stomping off.

"Wait!" Ash hurried after her. "It wasn't my fault!"

"Look, Ash, drop it! I'll get over it eventually, but at the moment, I don't want anything to do with you, so just leave me alone!"

"But Misty!"

"Pikapi! Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu's voice suddenly sounded, but in sounded far away. Confused, Ash checked his shoulder to see that Pikachu wasn't on it. Instead, he was standing a long distance away, and was calling to them.

"Hey, Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash yelled out. Misty stopped too and turned around because even though she was still furious, curiosity had decided to pay her a visit.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu called back.

Ash frowned. "What does Pikachu mean, look down?" he mused.

Look down? Misty looked at the ground, and for a moment, she couldn't see anything peculiar. And then it hit her, and her eyes widened.

"Ash," she said slowly, "we should head back. Slowly."

"Huh?" The boy gave her a bemused look, and turned to the ground as well. He cocked his head, not sure what was wrong, until all of a sudden he understood. "Yeah, I think we should..."

Problem? They were currently standing atop the frozen lake.

They must have unconsciously walked straight onto it while they were arguing. And it didn't help that the ice on the lake was supposed to be very weak and thin today, as evident by the cracks that had formed.

Slowly, but surely, the two began tiptoeing back, their arguing temporarily forgotten as they were much more intent of getting out of their predicament before things got bad. As in, the ice breaking and making them sink in the icy cold water.

For a while, it looked like they were going to make it without problem. But the ice wasn't too pleased about being disturbed, and gave away to Misty's next step. She let out a scream of shock as her leg went through an opening in the ice and ended up in the freezing water beneath.

"Misty!" Ash shouted, running to her rescue.

Big mistake.

With each step, the ice's cracks enlarged more and more, and by the time he reached Misty, who had already pulled her leg out, the whole lake was breaking apart.

"Oh no..." Ash mumbled, realizing how much worse he had made things. From a distance, he suddenly saw a certain Murkrow, watching him from a tree. It smirked when they made eye contact.

"Don't move," Misty instructed. "One wrong move, and we might all plunge to our doom. Let me just think of something..."

But Ash barely heard her. He was too focused on that Murkrow, which, he suspected, was the same one as earlier. What was it doing? It had him under a taunting gaze as it flew down and landed gently on the ice. Ash's eyes widened when he realized what it was up to.

"Don't do it..." he whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Misty asked. Noticing his horrified expression, she turned to where he was staring. "What's a Murkrow doing here?"

"Murkrow?" The Murkrow lazily lifted one of its clawed feet, and cocked his head as it watched Ash's reaction.

"No! Don't!" Ash cried frantically, shaking his head like a maniac.

"Krow." And it did it. It smashed its foot down hard, and then took to the air straight after. And, just like that, the whole frozen lake cracked and broke, and in fell Ash and Misty.

"Pikapi! Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu cried out. But its voice couldn't be heard by Ash, as his head was currently submerged within the icy depths.

The teenage boy's head suddenly emerged, gasping, his hat still miraculously on his head. "M-m-m-misty!" he called out, his teeth chattering. "Misty, a-a-a-are you okay-y-y?"

"I-I'm f-f-fine!" she answered, equally shivery. "T-t-that M-m-murkrow! I-it d-did that on purp-p-pose!"

"Y-yeah! I-i-it has it for me-e-e," Ash replied. "L-let's get out of h-here."

"R-right." Unfortunately, there were chunks of ice blocking their path, but fortunately, Misty knew exactly what to do. She managed to pull out a pokeball from her pocket and released Starmie, who used Rapid Spin to clear the way. Then, it helped the shivering two reach the lake shore, and they climbed out.

"M-man!" Ash said, trying to stay as warm as possible. "That Murkrow had been bothering me this morning too! Was it following me or something?"

"W-we should head home," said Misty, returning Starmie to its pokeball. "We can get pretty sick if we don't warm up soon."

"Right. L-let's get going then. See ya later."

"Yeah. Bye."

Just as they were about to head off, Ash remembered something. "WAIT!"

"What is it?"

He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small white box. Misty's present. The wrapping paper had become soggy and ripped off, but the box appeared undamaged. As long as the locket inside was fine...

"What's that?" Misty asked, walking up to him.

"For you." Ash held it out to her.

"Huh?"

"It's your birthday present, since today's your birthday and all."

"O-oh. Um..."

"Misty, Dawn told me you sent everyone texts saying you changed your birthday party day. But I never got any text! It's not my fault! I didn't know you switched it!"

"What?" Misty frowned. "No, I definitely sent you a text. I know I did! How could I forget?"

"But I never got it!"

"Are you sure? You might have just not checked properly, or maybe you forgot or something."

"No, I didn't. You never sent it to me."

Misty's frown became wider. "No, I'm absolutely sure..." She pulled out her cell phone, which was working despite being temporarily drowned, and checked.

"See?" she said. "I sent one to Leaf, May, Dawn, Drew, Gary, Paul, and..." She froze. No, not from the fact that she had just been underwater in the middle of winter, but because she had just discovered some shocking news. "Not you..." she said hollowly. "I didn't send you a text. How could I have forgotten...?"

"Ah, don't worry about it," said Ash, grinning. "I forget things all the time!"

"Yeah, but..." Her face became ridden with guilt. "I guess... it's my fault you didn't show up yesterday, then. I never thought I would be the one to forget. And I guess I overreacted too..."

"Misty, I know I forget things a lot, but come on! When have I ever forgotten your birthday?"

"Last year, you were late to the party."

"Something came up!"

"And the year before that, you forgot my present at your house—not that I care that much about the receiving presents part."

"I ran back and got it, though."

"And what about the time you forgot Pikachu at my house?"

"Pika, pikachu pika," Pikachu, who had run up to them after they'd climbed out of the lake, chimed in.

"Okay, but that was different. I never forgot your actual birthday, now, did I?"

"Well, I guess no... But you can't blame me for thinking you did!"

"Point taken!" Ash grinned. "So, are you gonna open it?"

Misty took the box from her friend, and with shivering fingers, opened the box. Ash hoped with all his might that the water hadn't entered it and ruined the locket. Once it opened, Misty let out a small gasp.

"Wow, Ash," she breathed. "It's beautiful! I never thought you could pick out something like this."

"Of course I can!" Ash bragged.

"Pika pika! Pikachu!"

"Oh, right, and Pikachu helped me look too."

"Thanks, guys, I really love it!"

"Yeah, I thought you wou— ACHOO!" Ash's sentence was cut off by a sneeze. "You know," he said, "we should get somewhere warm. We're still kind of soaked and standing outside in the middle of winter."

"Oh, right! See you, then, Ash. And thanks for the necklace!"

The two parted ways, and began heading for home. As he walked, Ash stretched and folded his hands behind his head.

"Well, Pikachu," he said, "compared to usual, that wasn't a complete disaster, now, wouldn't you say?"

"Pika!"

And done! I hope you guys enjoyed it! And happy (belated) birthday again, Queen!

Bye bye! Have a glorious day, and smile all the way! And Queen, happy birthday! :D