Well, here we are guys, the final chapter! We're going to find out what Misty's promise is, and have a few special guests along the way!

Chapter Nine: The Promise

"Come on!"

"Shh! We don't want to wake up the whole town!"

"Maybe we do," Ash replied with a smirk. "I kind of want to stand on top of a roof and announce to the whole place that I just got married to the most beautiful girl in the entire world."

At this, Misty blushed heavily. "Well, knowing Scott and his media influences, the entire world probably knows already."

After their incredibly long and eventful day, Ash and Misty had returned to Pallet Town. They were not yet headed for Delia's house, however. It was just past midnight, and the two were blazing through town, set on a mission they had set for themselves before the entire wedding was even planned.

Misty had taken off her beautiful ball gown in favor of a short white dress that featured cap sleeves bedecked in pearls and rhinestones. With her legs now on display, Misty's strappy silver heels were now visible as well. Although all of her wedding jewelry remained on (including the silver bangles borrowed from Daisy), the hair extensions had come out, giving Misty her naturally straight shoulder length hair back.

Ash, on the other hand, hadn't undergone as big of a transformation. He had simply taken off his tuxedo jacket and bowtie, given to Delia for safekeeping. The sleeves of his white dress shirt had been pushed up, and the top few buttons undone so he could finally breathe. His hair had also been mused and returned to its typical boyish appearance. The tuxedo pants and black loafers remained on.

As for Pikachu, who was back to his usual spot on Ash's shoulder, his bowtie had also come off, giving the electric type a great sense of relief. Ash had teased his partner extensively for this, huffing that he had been forced to wear a bowtie in addition to a whole fancy suit. Pikachu, of course, didn't have much sympathy for his trainer.

Still holding onto his wife's hand, Ash pulled her along the walkway, knowing exactly where they were going. Even in the dark, he was able to find his way. And as soon as the building came into view, he chuckled excitedly and began to speed up, pulling Misty along with him.

"Ash, careful!" Misty hissed. "Walking in these heels is horrible!"

"You should've changed your shoes!" Ash teased.

"But they're so pretty…" Misty whined with a sulk.

"It's okay, angel," Ash assured. "We're almost there."

Getting to the front door, Ash threw one last excited look at his wife before knocking on the door, a big grin on his face. The smile only widened as the door was pulled open, revealing a still-dressed from the wedding Professor Oak.

"Ash, my boy!" He cried in surprise. "I didn't think you'd come over right after the reception!"

"Oh, sorry!" Ash apologized. "Is now not a good time?"

"No, it's perfect," Professor Oak chuckled. "I thought you were going to come even later! Please, come in."

Stepping into the building, Misty followed behind her husband, smiling gratefully at the famed professor.

"Misty, you look just as beautiful as you did at the wedding!" Professor Oak complimented the young woman.

"Oh, thank you!" Misty giggled. "That's very sweet of you, professor."

"Feel free to head to the back," Professor Oak informed Ash as he closed the front door. "They're all waiting for you."

"Great!" Ash chuckled. "Thanks, professor. For everything."

"Don't mention it, Ash," Professor Oak replied warmly. "It's been my pleasure."

Parting with a nod and smile, Ash once again took Misty's hand and led her to the back door of the professor's home, opening it up and walking back outside, onto the plantation. Misty took this silent break to look up at the sky, where a multitude of stars were sparkling against the pitch black.

"It's so beautiful," Misty breathed, sounding completely enchanted. "So perfect…"

"Hey, guys!"

Misty lowered her head and looked straight forward. Ash was standing just a few feet away, happily greeting all of his Pokémon. Pikachu leaped off of his shoulder and joined the others, chatting joyfully with each individual creature. Smiling, Misty strode forward and joined her husband, giving the Pokémon her own greeting.

"We're sorry you guys couldn't come to the actual wedding," Ash apologized, his smile becoming more sympathetic.

"You wouldn't have liked it anyway," Misty assured the loyal creatures. "It was way too packed! Even I was getting claustrophobic."

The Pokémon laughed at this. From the middle of the crowd, a blue, mermaid-like Pokémon jumped up at Misty, nearly sending the young woman to the ground. Regaining her footing, Misty glanced at the creature and smiled, giving it her very own hug.

"Vaporeon," Misty sighed happily. "I missed you so much!"

"Vay…"

"I didn't know you would be here with all of Ash's Pokémon!" Misty commented.

"I wanted her to be here for you," Ash commented. "But I didn't bring just her."

Misty raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean?"

Hearing a chorus of excited cries, Misty looked down by her feet and gasped. Standing before her were all of her dear Pokémon, looking more than thrilled to see their trainer once again.

"Hi, guys!" Misty giggled, dropping to her knees and hugging all of the creatures. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to see all of you!" Once she was finished giving each one their individual attention, Misty looked up at her husband, positively beaming. "Ash…"

"You don't have to thank me," Ash chuckled. "I knew how important this was to you."

Misty got back to her feet and locked her hands behind her back, nodding sheepishly. "Yeah…"

From the middle of the mob of Pokémon, Bulbasaur unleashed his twin vines, handing Misty a beautiful white lantern.

"Thank you, Bulbasaur," Misty acknowledged softly.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur replied.

Looking over at his wife, Ash smiled gently and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Misty breathed, still staring at the lantern. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright," Ash confirmed, looking back over at his Pokémon. "Charizard, use-"

"Wait!"

Ash halted his command and looked up at Misty, his eyes flooded with confusion. Misty, however, seemed just as bewildered.

"That wasn't me," Misty informed her husband.

"Then who was it?" Ash murmured.

"Me!"

Ash slowly turned around, while Misty looked around him. Standing nearby, with a big smile on his face, was Cilan. Next to him, with their arms interlinked, was Iris. On Cilan's left were Brock, Tracey, May, Max, and Dawn, while Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena stood to his right.

"Wh-what are you guys all doing here?" Ash stammered, the surprise evident in his voice.

"Well, we kind of knew you wanted to be alone…" Serena sheepishly began, her eyes falling to the ground.

"But we decided you were gonna have enough time to yourselves in the future, so we all dropped by!" Bonnie giggled.

"Bonnie!" Clemont groaned.

"Well it's true!" Bonnie bit back.

"Professor Oak kind of told us what you guys were going to be doing out here while we were at the reception," Iris explained.

"And Ash's mother couldn't help but to chime in as well!" Cilan chuckled.

"We all thought it was the cutest thing in the whole entire world!" Dawn continued, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"And we wanted to be here for…moral support!" May trilled, beaming as she said it.

"The wedding was really fun, but we could all kind of tell how overwhelmed you two were," Max commented, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Especially going off of Ash's reactions from this afternoon," Tracey trilled, earning a teasing scowl from the young groom.

"So, even though being alone was probably the best way to go, we're not going to let that happen," Brock concluded. "You're going to do this surrounded by your closest friends."

Misty breathed out softly and tried to blink her tears away. "A-are you guys sure? You all must be exhausted…especially you, Iris."

"I'm fine," Iris assured the worried gym leader. "Really! Besides, this is perfect. For all of us. We're so happy for you and Ash, and we all have our own things to celebrate. Like mine and Cilan's children."

"Or even little things, like me catching a new Pokémon!" Bonnie cheered.

"Or maybe another wedding," May murmured, leading Ash and Misty to look at her confusedly.

"May…" Misty began, sounding breathless.

Walking closer to Ash and Misty, May held her left hand out, a smile quickly growing on her face. Misty strode forward and met May halfway, grabbing the younger girl's hand and examining her ring finger.

"Drew proposed," May giggled as Misty's jaw dropped. "He took me into the garden right after the reception and did it. He got down on one knee…and it was so amazing. I didn't know if I should say anything, I didn't want to take the attention away from you…"

Misty threw herself at May, giving the brunette coordinator a tight hug. "Congratulations, May! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah, that's amazing!" Ash chimed in, squeezing May's shoulder. "Drew didn't even let on to anything! I had no idea! Good for him."

"I was just watching you guys all day and dreaming of being as happy as you two are," May commented. "I can only hope that me and Drew's wedding is as beautiful as yours, and that our marriage is as happy."

"We've only been married for a few hours, May," Misty giggled.

"Oh, please, we all know you're the cutest, happiest couple in the whole entire world," Dawn scoffed from behind.

"You're going to be just fine," Brock added, his voice gentle and reassuring. "We all know it."

Ash and Misty exchanged glances, smiling gently at one another.

"Well, all of our friends have faith in us," Ash murmured. "So I guess we should seal the deal, huh?"

"A little late for that, isn't it?" Misty hummed. "We've already exchanged our vows."

"That's true," Ash murmured. "But how can we officially be a team until we keep your promise?"

Misty smiled and nodded her head, turning towards Charizard and softly requesting, "Charizard, could you please light the lantern?"

Letting out an agreeing roar, Charizard turned around and used the flame on his tail to light the inside of the lantern. This cast a soft glow on the inside of the white lamp, which spread to Misty's face and revealed her teary eyes to Ash.

"It's okay, Mist," he promised, holding onto the other side of the lantern. "I'm here for you."

Smiling gratefully at her husband, Misty nodded just once before letting go of the lantern, Ash doing so at the same exact time. They both watched it float up towards the sky, Misty's tear filled eyes sparkling as it soared.

"Isn't it such a wonderful tradition?"

"Yeah, the best one of them all."

"Even better than the old rhyme!"

From a distance, Daisy, Violet, and Lily were secretly watching their youngest sister and her new husband. Next to them stood Delia and Professor Oak, who seemed equally enamored.

"That's so sweet," Delia breathed, holding a hand over her heart.

"Yeah," Violet agreed. "Daisy did it first, and we all just followed suit. It's perfect."

"I thought it was the best way to honor our grandmother," Daisy sighed, watching the lantern float away. "I guess Misty thought so, too."

Back with the young couple, Misty still had her eyes locked on the softly glowing lantern. "I bet Grandma is up there right now, watching with a big smile on her face."

"Yeah," Ash agreed whimsically. "Or, maybe she's thinking 'oh no, not another lantern. Now there's another guy I've got to keep my eye on.'"

Misty, despite the current mood, began to laugh. She wiped at her eyes and smirked at Ash, murmuring, "that's exactly something she would have said, you know."

"Oh, I don't think I'm escaping her scrutiny," Ash assured his wife. "I've gotta make sure she's happy! Otherwise she's gonna strike me down."

"Don't worry," Misty giggled, stepping forward and wrapping herself in Ash's arms. "I'm happy. I'm very happy."

Their friends quietly watched the young couple embrace for several beautiful moments, until Dawn decided to break that silence.

"So, where are you guys going on your honeymoon?" Dawn squealed.

"Dawn!" May shrieked, playfully tugging at the younger girl's blue curl.

"Ow! I was just curious!" Dawn cried.

"It's alright," Misty giggled, turning to face the group. Ash still had his arms wrapped around her, with his head resting atop her shoulder and against her own. "We're going to the Orange Islands for two weeks. It'll just be nice to relax…spend all day in the sun…"

"And we'll get to see all of the different islands again!" Ash crowed. "We're going to island hop and stay at a few different hotels. It's gonna be awesome!"

"That sounds like so much fun!" Bonnie gasped.

"Yeah, and it's got something for the both of them!" Serena added.

"Adventure for Ash, and tropical relaxation for Misty!" Cilan sighed. "Two delectable tastes that blend together perfectly!"

"So, am I to assume you two are leaving tomorrow?" Brock chuckled.

Ash and Misty looked at one another before smirking and replying in unison, "no."

All of their friends gasped at this newsflash.

"Wh-what do you mean no?" May stammered.

"Ash has a big battle tournament in Celadon City for the next week and a half, and I'm going to be there to support him," Misty replied, rubbing her cheek against Ash's. "He's always there for me, and I'm so grateful for it. So I'm going to return the favor."

"And once the tournament is over, I'm going to whisk Misty away and make sure she knows just how grateful I am," Ash purred, kissing Misty on the cheek.

"Well, it's out of the ordinary, but so are they," Professor Oak commented, throwing Delia a side smile.

"They're special," Delia breathed, her amber eyes brimming with tears. "And I just know they're going to live happily ever after."

Aww, a happy ending! Of course! Why would I make a sad ending for a wedding story? :P

I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed and supported this story! It means a lot to me, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I've already got another story lined up in the pipeline, but I'm taking a vacation first ;D So, until then, peace!