Ash Ketchum was never the brightest trainer in the world.  He had fallen for Team Rocket's pitfall trap innumerable times.  However, as he prepared to leave Sinnoh and go home, he had an idea not even his smartest traveling companion would have thought of.  It was a simple idea, but one that would snowball into one of the most important situations Ash had ever been in.  It all started with Ash saying the simple words "Let's go check on Misty's old Togetic, so we can let her know it's alright."

The suggestion was simple, but yet ingenious.  Ash knew that Misty was had been sad at leaving Togetic behind, and letting her know that he had personally checked on the Pokémon and ensured it was alright was a better gift than any trinket he could buy her.  Brock agreed, so they decided to go to Hoenn.  After bidding farewell to Dawn in an emotional scene and receiving her Buneary (you know how it goes), they boarded a ship bound for the port nearest the Mirage Kingdom.

The voyage from Sinnoh to Hoenn was very long, but Ash and Brock eventually made it.  They headed out into the desert where the Mirage Kingdom lay, and were able to locate and enter the kingdom.  Ash was recognized by the people of the kingdom and was happily escorted to Misty's old Togetic.  Ash's intentions were simply to check on Togetic so he could tell Misty it was alright, but he ended up doing so much more.

As it had turned out, quite a few Togepi had evolved since Misty had left Togetic there, and the King said Ash was more than welcome to take Misty's Togetic back to her if it so desired.  Jumping at the idea, Ash excitedly asked Togetic if it wanted to return to Misty's side.  The little Pokemon was ecstatic; it hugged Ash and happily agreed to come home with Misty.  However, it was a bit TOO ecstatic, and used Metronome unintentionally.

It was obvious by the glow that surrounded Togetic that Metronome had become Transform.  However, because of the fact that it was hugging Ash, the move's effects were altered.  Ash began to glow white as well, and the King, the Queen, and Brock were terrified.  The glow lasted for nearly thirty seconds; meanwhile Ash and Togetic's forms became unidentifiable.  Finally, the glow died down.  The three bystanders gasped in shock, Buneary covered her mouth with her paw, and Pikachu let out a startled "PIKA!".

"How the hell did I just hear Pikachu shout my name instead of its own?!" Ash exclaimed, obviously confused.  "Perhaps an examination of yourself would explain things." The Queen said.  There were too many big words in the sentence however, so naturally Ash said "What?" quizzically.  "JUST LOOK DOWN!" Brock exclaimed.  "Alright, don't go all Misty on me!" Ash said, annoyed.  He looked down at himself, and was shell shocked at what he saw.  "WHAT THE-?! I'M A TOGETIC?!" he exclaimed.  He turned to the three bystanders, and asked "Which one of you three did this to me?!"  They all did anime collapses, and Togetic flew over to explain things.

"Ash, it wasn't them." came a youthful voice from behind him.  He turned around to see Togetic.  'This is weird on so many levels…' Ash thought.  "Ash, I think I got a little overexcited and used Metronome by accident. It apparently became Transform, and I think it changed you into a Togetic because I was hugging you at the same time. I'm really sorry, can you ever forgive me?" Togetic said, in an apologetic tone.

Ash felt sorry for Togetic.  He knew it had been very excited to go home to Misty, and hadn't intended on changing Ash into a Pokemon.  "It's ok Togetic; you were really excited and didn't mean to use Metronome. Of course I forgive you." Ash said.  Togetic shed a tear and hugged Ash again.  Ash wrapped his stubby arms around Togetic and returned the hug, wanting to comfort the little Pokemon.  "Aww, how sweet!" the Queen said.  Ash and Togetic separated from their short hug, and Ash said "Well we'd better head out; it's a long walk back to the port."

Ash, Brock, Pikachu, Buneary and Togetic said goodbye to the King and Queen, and headed back to the port.  When they arrived it was late, so they got a room in the Pokemon Center.  The next day, Ash woke up starving.  Ash groaned and said "I'm hungry, wake up Brock!", his stomach rumbling like an earthquake.  Brock awoke with a start, and fell off his bed onto the floor.  He stood up and rubbed his head tenderly.  "I'll get straight to work on breakfast Ash, you're obviously starving..." he said.

A long fifteen minutes later, Brock served Ash some Pokemon food.  'This better taste like waffles...' Ash thought.  He took a piece and nibbled on it cautiously.  'Muffin flavor, even better!' Ash thought as he happily ate his food.  Brock wasn't sure Ash was going to like Pokemon food, but smiled as he was pleasantly surprised to see him gobbling it down.  Buneary, Pikachu and Togetic enjoyed the food as well, but it was normal for them.

Once breakfast was finished and cleaned up, Brock and the three Pokémon left the Pokemon Center and made the short walk to the port.  There they boarded a ship bound for Kanto.  Once they had settled in their cabin, Brock noticed that Ash didn't seem too overly worried about his current condition, and was very curious as to why.  At the moment Ash was playing with Togetic in the cabin's living room, but Brock called him over to talk.

"Ash, you don't seem very concerned about your current condition. I imagine most people would be panicking right now, where as you're frolicking around like there's nothing wrong!" Brock said.  What Brock heard next truly shocked him.  "Well I don't really see a reason to be worried. My transformation was caused by a move which generally has only a temporary effect. Also, I'm sure when we get to Pallet Town, Professor Oak can shed some light on things. As far as this possibly being a permanent transformation, that's ok too. I know Misty likes this species, so I can still be with her-"Ash stopped himself and his white face turned scarlet.

Brock grinned almost evilly.  "I knew you liked her, I knew it!" he exclaimed, beginning to do an "I knew it" dance.  "I get it Brock…" Ash said, a little annoyed at his elder's immaturity.  Brock however, was too caught up in the moment.  "Brock, you're 23, GET OVER IT ALREADY!" Ash shouted.  At this Brock stopped.  "You're unusually mature today Ash, I think you're losing your Ashy-ness." Brock said.  "I'm 18 Brock; I'm not a kid anymore." Ash said.

Suddenly, a pillow smacked Ash in the back and he toppled onto his stomach.  He stood up and whirled around to find Togetic standing with his arms behind his back, trying to look innocent.  "You're going to get it now!" he exclaimed.  Moments later Ash had engaged Togetic in a play fight.  "Not a kid anymore eh?" Brock said grinning, "I'll believe that when I see it!"

The trip onboard the ship wasn't as long this time, but it still took a while before they made port in Vermillion City.  From Vermillion they made their way north to Saffron, and finally, Cerulean City.  It was noon when they arrived in Cerulean, but Ash ignored his hunger and flew straight to the gym.  With Brock lagging behind, Ash managed to pull open the door and get inside.  Once inside, he hovered behind a small wall that kept him out of view from the pool.

He peeked around the corner and saw Misty swimming in the pool, as he had expected.  Retreating back behind the wall, he shouted "MISTY!"  "ASH?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she shouted out, ecstatic at hearing his voice.  "I bet you can't guess where I've been!" Ash taunted, flying out from behind the wall.  He looked like a normal Togetic, but the hat was a dead giveaway.  "You've been to the Mirage Kingdom haven't you?!" she said, shocked, "So how's Togetic, and how'd you become a Pokémon this time?"

"It's a long story; you may want to sit down." Ash said.  Misty sat down, and Ash continued.  "When Brock and I were preparing to come home from Sinnoh, I had the idea to go check on Togetic. See, I wanted to do something nice for you, and I figured that letting you know your old Togetic was doing well would be perfect. So instead of coming straight home, we took a ship to Hoenn and went to the Mirage Kingdom. It turns out that several of the Togepi there have evolved, and Togetic no longer had to stay there for it to be well protected. I asked him if he wanted to come home with me to see you, and he got so excited that he hugged me and used Metronome by accident. Metronome became Transform, and turned me into a Togetic." Ash said.

"Wow…" Misty said, "You don't seem very concerned about your transformation though, that's unusual."  "Well I thought about it and I've realized it isn't really that bad. I mean, it was caused by a move that normally has a temporary effect, so likelihood is this isn't a permanent change. Professor Oak will likely be able to find something out too. Plus, even if the transformation is permanent, at least I got transformed into a species you like, so we can still be... together..." Ash said, blushing profusely as he said the last part.

Misty blushed lightly and said "Ash... you... have feelings for me?"  Mustering up every ounce of courage he possessed, Ash flew up and hovered in front of Misty.  "I… love you Misty." he said.  He flew forward and hugged her neck as best he could.  Misty was joyously surprised to hear Ash admit his true feelings, so she came out with her own.  "Ash, I love you too…" she said.  She wrapped her arms around his small body and hugged him tightly.  As they hugged at that joyous moment, they both knew that they wanted to be together forever, for better or worse, Pokemon or human.

Unbeknownst to them, Brock and the other Pokemon had entered the Gym silently and witnessed the confession.  Brock was now in tears of utter joy, Buneary was clinging to Pikachu in a similar condition to Brock, and even Pikachu's eyes were welled up with tears.  Even Togetic, who wanted more than anything else to fly over and give Misty a hug, restrained himself to preserve the moment.

The two lovers separated for a moment before their lips came together in the closest thing they could get to a kiss.  All at once Ash's body began to glow.  The two lovers ignored it, and continued to kiss.  As he glowed, Ash returned to his human form.  He wrapped his arms around Misty, and the two continued kissing passionately.  Finally, they separated, but not completely; they now held each other's hand.

As they turned towards the gym entrance, they were given an emotional round of applause from Brock and the three Pokémon.  Togetic flew up and gave Misty a big hug, which she joyously returned.  Ash and Misty then announced that they needed some time alone, and left the gym.  They returned an hour and a half later, with two significant changes.  One, they had full stomachs, and two, Misty was wearing the most beautiful water drop shaped ring you've ever seen.  It was an aquamarine stone set in silver, and it rested on Misty's left ring finger.  Ash sat next to Misty while she played with Togetic for the rest of the day.

A month and a half later Ash and Misty's wedding was underway.  Ash had just placed a new ring on Misty's finger.  It was a beautiful aquamarine stone in the shape of a cascade badge, set in white gold and studded with diamonds.  Ash on the other hand got a white gold ring with no stones whatsoever.  Lance declared the two husband and wife, and then Ash and Misty shared a kiss marking the second greatest moment of their lives.