The First Awakening

Chapter 10

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Misty was sure now—there was someone behind this door. She pushed against it, but it was stuck shut. She backed up and rammed into it, but to no avail. Finally, she stood back, lifted a bent leg into the air, and straightened it. The increased pressure of her rage caused by extreme impatience and worry caused the door to burst open, and she raced inside. May and Max slowed to a stop, then stared at the door. A dent from the kick had caused the stainless steel door to have a Numel hump-like bulge on one side and a small valley on the other.

"Whoa…" Max said at last. "I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."

May nodded weakly as Brock came up beside them and gaped at the door. "That's for sure."

In the room, Misty was fumbling with the locked chains holding Ash on the chair. "Hold on, Ash," she muttered. "We'll get you out, somehow."

Ash turned his head as best he could, trying to see who his savior was. "Misty?"

She jumped back, apparently having not realized Ash was conscious. "Oh good, you're awake! Hey Brock, does Jessie have the key to this chain?" She shouted behind her. "I can't get it loose." Brock turned around to ask the Team Rocket member, but discovered an empty hallway.

Togetic floated past Brock and hovered next to Ash. The Normal type held its arms up, and they glowed blue. The chains lifted into the air for a moment, then snapped in two. Misty helped Ash up as he rubbed his arms to get the circulation flowing—the chains had been very tight.

"Thanks, Togetic." He said. "I owe ya one." A short cry, and Ash turned his head. The Pokémon trainer's small yellow pal jumped into his arms. He rubbed it on its head and laughed for a moment. "Hey buddy!" Pikachu took its place on his shoulder as they stepped out into the hall, where Ash was greeted happily.

"Hey Ash!"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

Brock, Max, and May crowded around Ash, pushing Misty and Togetic off to the side. They looked at the scene, simultaneously happy and sad. Understanding that they were out of place, they turned and started walking down the hall. Soon enough, they were at the elevator. They got in and kept their eyes away from the hallway, not a single wistful glance left behind.

"It's been great to see you again, Togetic." Misty said in a falsely cheerful voice, turning possible conversation away from the obvious concern at hand. "Did May really catch you?"

Togetic looked for a long moment at its surrogate mother. It thought for a long moment, and then spoke telepathically to Misty. Well, I think she did…but I'm sure that you'll be my Mommy once again once she sees those papers of mine. Misty nodded. She began to reply, but the elevator chimed, interrupting her. The doors opened, and they walked out. As soon as the door beeped as it shut once more, she and Togetic were backed up against the wall, surrounded.

---

Ash was glad to be back with his friends, and soon had answered all their questions. When they had backed away from him enough and he had a good look around, he frowned. "Where's Misty and Togetic?" He wondered aloud.

Brock smirked wickedly. "Why so worried, Ash? Need to make sure your girlfriend is okay?" His smirk turned into a wince of pain as he soon was nursing a bump to his head. May and Max were confused.

"That's the second time someone called Misty Ash's girlfriend today," May mused. "How strange…" Max glanced over at his sister, a look of annoying superiority covering his face. She looked down at him. They stared off for awhile.

Finally, May asked, "What?" Max slapped a hand to his face and shook his head slowly, facing away from May once again.

"What?"

"Ow…" Brock moaned, attempting to discover how bad the injury Ash had given to him was by gently poking at it with his hands. Ash ignored his friend's pain.

"Serves you right," he said, turning from Brock so the breeder couldn't see Ash's reddened face. "But seriously, did they go somewhere?" Max and May looked to their left and to their right. It seemed to be true.

Misty and Togetic were gone.

And Ash, it also seemed, was determined to find them. He raced down the hall, Pikachu scampering right behind him, with Brock, Max, and May following the duo.

---

Misty peered over the tranquilizer gun barrels at the people aiming them and sighed with relief when she realized it was the Officer Jenny of Sootopolis City and a few other members of the force. Jenny recognized her, and the men lowered their weapons on her order. She approached Misty, and the two began chatting; some minor inquiries about Wallace's injuries had made it so they were now well acquainted.

"What're you doing here, Misty?"

"I should ask the same of you. I thought you normally stayed within city limits…"

Jenny smiled and explained. "Well, Wallace called to let me know a couple of kids were headed over this way. Thought there might be trouble. He also wanted to increase his life insurance, so I directed him to Chansey Life and Injury. I had a feeling he had done something you didn't want him to do, though he didn't say anything. That's been the only reason he's ever raised his insurance lately."

Misty chuckled. "Actually, Ash and I have a few bones to pick with him. Probably his spine." Seeing Jenny's confused expression, she explained further. "Pokémon Trainer…he was at Green Field when the whole issue with the Unown happened—his mom was the one taken? Ring a bell?"

Jenny nodded. "Oh, right…my second cousin told me about that. Weren't you there too?" Misty nodded. Jenny ignored her underlings, who were lounging around awkwardly, waiting for the raid on the building to continue. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Really long story short? Ash was captured, and Team Rocket wanted me to battle to save him. I did, Togepi evolved, and the two of us left." Jenny (who had taken some classes early in her career on minute facial expressions) noted Misty's sad expression easily. It was quite obvious that something was wrong.

"And they are…where, exactly?"

Misty smiled forlornly, knowing she had been caught. "Oh, you know how it is, don't you Jenny? I don't belong there, with them, anymore…and so what? Being able to see them again was worth it. I can do what I came here to do."

"So can we, Misty."

Jenny glanced behind Misty, who turned around to see Ash, Brock, Max, May, and Pikachu standing in front of the elevator. Misty's mouth fell open, and she was speechless. They had come for her…? But…they had new friends now, and different goals, and…why?

The silence was quickly shattered when Brock lost his head, yet again; his eyes turned to hearts at the sight of the female police officer, and he sprung at her. Before he could get a word out, Misty had a firm hold on one ear and Max had grabbed the other. They yanked forcefully and walked off, leaving May, Ash, and Pikachu to laugh nervously and sweatdrop.

Brock stretched his arms towards Officer Jenny, futilely attempting to reach the policewoman. "My darling! Though these…fools…have attempted to separate us, I know we shall meet aga—ow! Not the ear…not the ear!"

Once Brock had been successfully dissuaded from going after Jenny, Misty turned to Ash, having found something to say. "…I thought you guys were okay, and I could go back to my life."

Ash smiled. "Not a chance, Misty. We're a part of your life, aren't we? And if nothing else, I had to thank you. You saved Pikachu—and me—from actually being captured by Team Rocket. Besides—" he frowned "—we have a score to settle with a certain gym leader, don't we?"

Misty narrowed her eyes, knowing what Ash meant. Then she stopped short. "You saw…?"

"…there was a giant TV screen in my chambers. I saw the whole thing. Which reminds me…" He whispered with Misty a moment, then she handed him something familiar. Brock paled and started to back up slowly then just broke into a run, bursting through the doors. Ash chased after him, a mallet in hand.

Misty smiled as Pikachu and Togetic shook their heads. "That's something you don't see everyday…" Max, May, and Jenny sweatdropped as Ash finally nailed Brock on the head. He raised he mallet triumphantly and raced back over to the cabin, leaving Brock swirl-eyed on the ground.

"Thanks," Ash said, smiling as he handed the mallet back to Misty.

She smiled back. "No problem, Ash. I always did wonder how well you would handle a mallet." They smiled at each other a bit longer. Ash suddenly realized how close they were to each other. Also recalling what he had realized earlier, Ash backed off quickly. He turned away from Misty, his face left warm from the brief "encounter" and Misty left confused by Ash's reaction.

---

Having been slightly delayed by the reunion, it was of little surprise that the building was vacated, with not even a Meowth whisker or rose petal left behind to tie the kidnapping and illegal battle to Team Rocket. All the videotapes had been erased or removed; the only thing left behind that was obviously not there beforehand was a room filled with chicken-, beef-, and shrimp-flavored ramen packages.

Officer Jenny and her coworkers brought the group downtown to fill out the papers necessary for recording abductions and illegal battling. The moment they were finished, Ash and Misty raced down the street, furious looks on their faces. Brock, Max, and May rushed after them, waving a short farewell to Officer Jenny over their shoulders. Pikachu rode on May's shoulder as she tried to catch up with her friends; Togetic was keeping a close watch from above.

Jenny shook her head, watching the kids try and catch up to Ash and Misty. "Those kids…are the kind of people you don't meet everyday…"

---

Wallace glanced out the window and cursed mentally. They had gotten here faster than he had thought, and he still hadn't discovered any plausible reason as to why they were coming; he only knew that they were. Now he had no time to hide in the bomb shelter. He'd have to use the smaller hideaway under the floorboards. Turning back to the video screen he was sitting in front of, he whispered, "On second thought, would you make that an increase of 1 million Pokéyen?"

The clerk onscreen jumped back at the term. "One million Pokéyen, sir? After all your increases today (and having only joined our great and noble company this very afternoon) you want another million Pokéyen added on?" Wallace nodded frantically. The confused man typed on his computer for a moment, then looked back up at Wallace. "Your insurance has been increased by one million Pokéyen, sir. Is that everything for today?"

"…that'll be all. Thanks a lot!"

"Thank you, sir! I hope you don't ever have to use it!" The clerk smiled cheerfully, which was regulation at Chansey Life and Injury; supposedly, it made people feel safer and cheerful.

Wallace merely shook his head and mumbled, "Don't I wish…" before breaking the connection. Then the doors behind him were unlocked, and he dove to his hiding spot, hardly knowing why he needed to hide.

When Brock, Max, and May got to the room Ash and Misty had rushed into with a passionate fury, an incredibly strange sight met their eyes.

Ash and Misty were scurrying around the room, mallets held high above their heads. Wallace couldn't be seen, but Brock imagined that he was curled up in a ball, whimpering in an embarrassing way for a man in his forties. Brock sighed and motioned for Max and May to do what he did. He grabbed Ash beneath his arms with his own arms, and the mallet dropped onto the floor. A short cry slipped out from underneath the plush carpeting.

Everyone froze.

Seconds before Max and May slipped their arms around her waist, Misty was lifting up the carpeting, and then a trap door. A shock of blue hair was visible from where they stood, and Misty leapt into the tunnel. Ash broke loose of Brock's grip and followed his friend into the depths of the floorboards.

Brock, Max, May, Pikachu, and Togetic stood perfectly still (Togetic now on Max's head, Pikachu on Brock's shoulder). Occasionally blinking, they ignored screams, crashes, and other random noises. They barely sweatdropped when a mallet came flying out from inside the secret area, and only moved back a little when a slightly dusty Ash climbed out. He grabbed Misty's hand and pulled her out. They dusted themselves off. Looking at their friends and noticing the odd looks on each of their faces, Ash and Misty pointed down at the floorboards.

"He deserved it."

When Wallace feebly scrambled out of the hiding area, he was battered and bruised in many places, with bumps and lumps slowly beginning to form. The gym leader winced as he sat down on a squishy armchair, then relaxed a bit and sighed.

Brock whistled. "Quite a number they pulled on you, huh, Wallace?" Wallace raised an eyebrow at the Pokémon breeder, then sank lower into the seat, his head in his hands. Brock chuckled. "Glad it wasn't me this time."

Max whispered to May, "Definitely don't want to get on their bad sides." May nodded.

Wallace raised his head and looked around, trying to determine if there was any damage to his vision. His eyes glanced briefly across the room, pausing briefly upon seeing in a mirror. His eyes widened, but he quickly moved on. A figure behind Max caught his attention much more obviously; everyone else turned to see no other than Togetic.

The Happiness Pokémon was embarrassed by everyone's stares. It turned to Misty. "You'd better tell Wallace what happened, Mommy. I think he's confused."

"I don't think he's the only one…" Misty thought. Then she cleared her throat. "I think we've got some explaining to do…" The others snapped out of their trances and began a round of question and answer.

Soon enough, all questions were answered, and Wallace was about to go redeem his insurance for his injuries, when Misty realized she had forgotten something.

"Wait up, Wallace!" She cried out. "What about earlier? You said you had something to cheer me up, so I wouldn't feel sad about Togepi leaving…what was it?" Wallace slapped his forehead and raced out of the room and down the hall to the left, entering Misty's room. When he came back into the room, a mallet met him head on.

Misty growled, "I've told you a thousand times, Wallace; don't go in my room." Wallace weakly got up off the floor and held out something to Misty the others couldn't see at first; she squealed and dropped her mallet. Wallace was grabbed tightly around the throat as Misty muttering excited thanks before letting him fall to the floor to catch his breath. She turned around holding the object gently in her arms, beaming with pride. It was a perfectly shaped pink Pokémon egg.

Max went straight up to Misty to inspect the egg, but was pulled back quickly by Ash and Brock. They didn't want Max hurt, and that was a surefire way to do so, which they had learned the hard way.

Instead, Brock questioned Wallace. "What egg is—"

"—Luvdisc." Brock and Max ooh-ed and aw-ed at the egg, watching it shimmer in its pink glory. "It's a fantastic specimen, Wallace." Max commented as he observed it using a high-power magnifying lens; Misty just let him hold it when she saw how excited he was about it.

"It's your Luvdisc's egg, isn't it, Wallace?" Wallace nodded and tossed out Luvdisc's Pokéball. The pink Pokémon twirled around a moment and started to perform before it realized that it wasn't showing off or practicing. Wallace panicked slightly, then retained his cool, but the damage was done. May was now gaping widely at Wallace, as were Ash, Pikachu, Max, and Brock.

Misty crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Wallace. "Now, didn't I say it would come out eventually? Didn't I?"

Wallace looked down at his feet. "Yes…"

"And what did I say you should do?"

"Just tell everyone the truth…"

"Mm hmm…and did you?"

"No…"

May jumped in. "You're a Coordinator?" When Wallace nodded, she squealed at a tone to rival Misty's own. "Please, teach me everything you know! I want to be as ready as possible for the Grand Festival!" Wallace backed up against the wall as May leaned in towards him excitedly, asking what she should do in any situation.

Misty watched, slightly amused, while Max sweatdropped, embarrassed beyond reason by his sibling. Brock was still getting over how much like his youngest sister Wallace had acted when Misty had spoken to him. Ash seemed like he wanted to say something, but waited for May to finish. When it became obvious she wasn't ending the one-sided conversation anytime soon, he began interrupting quietly.

"…well? What do you think I should do against Kelly's Grumpig?"

"Umm…Wallace…? May?"

"Well? If Harley uses his Cacturne, would my Combusken be the best option? Or should I try working with my Bulbasaur, Grass type against Grass type?"

"Wallace…?"

"Or if Drew uses his Masquerain? Do you think Skitty could defeat it?"

"…May?"

"What if he has a newPokémon?" May began to panic a little, and started to ramble on about nothing in particular. It was obvious nerves over the upcoming competition were getting to her. Ash, however, was far too impatient to allow something like that to get in his way.

"May, let me speak!" Ash shouted out.

May stopped talking and turned to look at Ash. Realizing how she had been acting, the Coordinator slapped a hand to her forehead. "Sorry Ash; I went overboard there, didn't I?"

Ash nodded, half smiling. "Wallace, now that the majority of your injuries have healed, can I ask a favor?"

Wallace seemed surprised at Ash's question. The kid was pretty polite. "Well…sure, I guess so…"

"Great! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Ash shouted boldly, a finger pointed at the Gym Leader. Everyone looked on as Wallace considered the request.

They waited and waited and waited, for a very long time, before he decided.

"Nope." Noticing that Ash, and everyone else, had facefaulted, he added, "Don't worry, Ash. One of my assistants will battle you."

Ash recovered instantly and smiled widely, as did Pikachu, now sitting upon his shoulder. Max was excited to see the assistant battle Ash, wondering what technique they could use against Pikachu and Grovyle, as they would be at a weakness on two fronts. May was also glad to see a battle, wondering if Wallace's assistant would be a coordinator too. Misty was shocked for a moment, then glared fiercely at Wallace.

Brock, always observing, noticed how upset Misty was all of a sudden. He put two and two together, and smirked before asking a question. "How many assistants do you have, Wallace?"

Wallace rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Only one, actually." Brock smirked more. Max realized what this meant soon enough, as did May. They smiled too.

As they walked into the battle room to wait for Ash to come out, Brock muttered, "This should be interesting…"

Ash was too excited to notice how odd his friends were acting. He had already won this badge, but he wanted to test his skills against the true Sootopolis Gym Leader. Even though he was not facing the actual gym leader, Wallace's assistant should have learned more from Wallace than anyone else. Of course, Wallace might have learned everything he knew from Adan, but that was beside the point. Ash walked into the trainer's entrance, while Misty, Togetic, and Wallace walked off to another entrance. Ash idly wondered why Misty wasn't going to watch the battle with the others, but shrugged it off as loyalty to her superior.

Ash walked through the tunnel to the battle rooms and came out onto the water field, Pikachu on his shoulder. Wallace was standing off to one side, holding the official red and green flags designed for a battle. Brock, Max, and May were sitting across from the Gym Leader. Ash frowned slightly; Misty wasn't even going to watch Wallace's assistant battle? Where was she?

Wallace crossed his arms, the flags held pointing up. "This is a 2-on-2 Pokémon battle between the challenger, Ash Ketchum, and the Sootopolis Gym assistant, Misty Waterflower."

Ash and Pikachu reacted violently. This was something he hadn't expected. And it wasn't a very good thing. Then Ash remembered what Wallace had said earlier: "Sorry about that, Ash. I just broke two of Misty's most important laws." He chuckled. "Look at me. I'm supposed to be the gym leader, and I'm following strict rules set down for me by my assistant."

Ash and Misty had quite an unusual relationship when it came to Pokémon battles. Their first battle had been undecided, as Team Rocket had interrupted before it ended (Ash was convinced he had won; Misty had argued constantly that she had been about to win). Their next battle, Ash had won the right to battle Meowth for Togepi, but Misty had ended up keeping Togepi. Ash had won when they battled for Totodile, then Misty won during the Whirl Cup. It had basically evened out; neither of them truly had more wins than the other.

Ash was worried about this battle; Misty was one of the people he wasn't always confident he could win against. Now wasn't the time to battle her, when this win really counted for his last bit of training. On the other side of the field, Misty had appeared with Togetic floating near her shoulder. The two friends were practically reflected images, with a Pokémon by their head and a similar look on their faces. They were reluctant to battle, for once. "Let the battle begin!"

"Pikachu, go!" Misty sighed and rolled her eyes, all reluctance gone.

"You honestly think that will work? It didn't work the last two times you battled me, Ash…this time is no different. I call on Togetic!" Ash was not surprised, as were Brock and Pikachu, though Pikachu was still slightly reluctant to battle Pipipi, like Meowth had been earlier.

"Use Metronome!" Togetic began waving its little hands back and forth, and soon enough they glowed blue. This sort of attack could be the undoing of a battle before it even started. Ash needed to plan for anything, and suddenly came up with one.

"Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Pikachu began zigzagging across the field, jumping from float to float. The Metronome ended, revealing itself to be a Thundershock. Misty smirked.

"Perfect, Togetic! Aim it at the water!" The bolt of electricity flew from between Togetic's miniscule hands and into the pool, where it crackled and traveled across the surface and across the floats. Pikachu was on a float near the center of the mini-blast, as was hit hard. It was flung into the water and left paddling frantically to keep its head up. "Yawn, Togetic!" Togetic opened its mouth wide and released a large gust of air, which hit Pikachu directly. Ash now only had one turn before it was over for Pikachu. Ash ran through the possibilities quickly. He had one shot at this, so he hoped for the best.

"Pikachu! Use Slam!" Pikachu raced towards the heart Pokémon and rammed its shoulder into Togetic's chest, forcing it backward in midair. With the attack ended, Pikachu felt the effects of the Yawn and became drowsy. Soon enough, Pikachu was snoring away on a bright yellow float that matched its fur perfectly.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Togetic wins!" Wallace cried out. Togetic used some sort of glowing-blue attack similar to Metronome to lift Pikachu into the air. Pikachu was laid down by Ash's side, blowing a giant anime sleeping-bubble. Ash's hat covered his face for a moment, but then he was grinning wildly at Misty, a Pokéball in hand.

"If that's the way you want it, Misty…I choose you, Grovyle!" The wood gecko popped out of its Pokéball, ready to battle. Misty was slightly afraid, but she relaxed. Even if Togetic lost, she had the perfect opponent for Grovyle. "Fury Cutter!" The leaves on either arm glowed white and Grovyle jumped into action. It struck once, twice, three times before Misty could react.

"Teleport!" Togetic dematerialized just in time to avoid the fifth attack, but there was significant damage done regardless. Togetic was panting heavily, and it was obvious to Misty that Togetic wouldn't survive an attack a third of that Fury Cutter's power. Grovyle was also tired, though not as much so; an attack of that size could take a lot out of a Pokémon, and this one was no different. Ash was determined that they wouldn't lose another round; he wasn't about to lose the battle for his last badge.

"You've gotten very good at handling Togetic, Misty. Especially after only having it for a few hours." Misty flushed, not expecting a compliment during a battle.

"Thanks, Ash—"

"—too bad it won't make a difference. I'm not gonna lose this match." Misty frowned, upset at being deceived.

"You'd better take that back Ash. Your mom wouldn't like to hear you've been lying." Ash frowned deeper than Misty had.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Really…"

"Yes, really!"

"Well, we'll just see about that!"

"Oh, will we?"

"Yeah, we will!"

"You sure about that?" Brock smiled weakly at the arguing pair, while May and Max slid behind him, sweatdropping.

"What are they doing?" Max asked.

Brock turned to look at him. He started to speak, then just shook his head. "You'll see." Turning back to Ash and Misty, he cupped his mouth with his hands and shouted, "Tracey sends his best wishes, you lovebirds, you!"

Ash and Misty turned to him angrily and shouted, "Be quiet, Brock!" They turned to each other, stared a moment, blushed, and turned back to Brock. Misty threw her mallet at Brock, who ducked. The mallet then spun around in midair and hit Brock in the back of the head. May, Max, and Wallace sweatdropped and looked down at Brock lying on the ground.

"Boomerang mallet?"

"Yep." Misty looked over at Ash. "Now, quit talking and start battling!" Ash glanced back at the field. Togetic and Grovyle had healed somewhat, but Togetic was still exhausted. Now was the time for a KO.

"Leaf Blade!" Grovyle's right group of leaves glowed a brighter white than the Fury Cutter had, and it charged. The grass attack hit Togetic fast and hard. It fell to land on the sky blue float. After a few moments, it struggled to its feet and rose into the air. The flying type stayed up for a moment, then collapsed to the ground, not having enough power to even stay in the air. Togetic strained to arise, but after three tries slumped down, giving up the fight to stay in the battle. Its eyes began swirled shapes, and Misty jumped down to pick it up as Wallace pointlessly announced, "Togetic is unable to battle. Grovyle wins."

Ash smirked at Misty as she climbed back up. "Looks like you aren't winning this one so easy, Misty."

"There's still a chance left for each of us, Ash." Misty retorted, too concerned for Togetic's health to get seriously involved in another argument. "So just stow it, would you?"

Ash may have been, well, not all that smart about some things, but he knew when he had gone too far. "Fine…just choose your last Pokémon."

Misty smiled and reached for a Pokéball. "Don't worry; I saved this one for last for a reason. Let's go, Gyarados!" The great blue water Pokémon roared its fierce roar, coming out into the pool with a raging wave splashing behind it. Ash was a bit taken aback at its size; Gyarados always look bigger up close than anywhere else. "Use Flamethrower!" Ash hopped back a step on the platform, shocked at the idea of a water type pulling that sort of attack. And yet there it was; a torrential flood of flames pouring out of Gyarados's mouth and headed straight at Grovyle.

"Use Quick Attack, Grovyle! Get out of the way!" Grovyle used its speedy move and escaped the blast—or so it seemed. Moments later, Grovyle noticed it was on fire, and it hopped around in circles on a group of red floats for awhile before deciding to jump in the pool. Washed off and cooled down, Grovyle was ready to battle again. "Now use Bullet Seed!" Grovyle obeyed, and a rush of golden pods of energy struck out at Gyarados.

"Oh, no! Gyarados!" Misty cried out, seeing her Pokémon in pain. Gyarados was soon relieved, as the Bullet Seed was a short, but powerful one. "Alright, Gyarados! Use Dragon Rage!" Gyarados's strength grew and Grovyle's was knocked down a bit by the power of the attack, but the match between the two was still pretty even.

"Quick Attack, then Pound!" Grovyle zipped into action, too fast to stop. Misty couldn't see it, and Gyarados, looking around frantically, was unable to spot it. "Now!" Gyarados looked up, and there was Grovyle, poised to attack, its tail ready to slam down onto Gyarados's skull.

"Gyarados! Bite it's tail!" Gyarados obeyed, and Grovyle was stuck. It's tail was smarting, and the pain certainly didn't lessen when Gyarados began to swing the gecko Pokémon around in the air.

"Interesting technique," Brock commented. "Misty took one of Gyarados's most basic moves and turned it into a defense. Good thinking on her part."

"She always was a better strategist than me," Wallace admitted sheepishly. "And I honestly never took it into thought that an offensive move could ever be used as a defensive one. Misty's much better at being a Gym Leader than I am, and she's supposed to be learning from me." Wallace shook his head. "It's embarrassing, really."

Gyarados let go, and Grovyle was sent flying into the wall. Max and May, standing nearby, jumped back from Grovyle with a shriek and a gasp. Grovyle seemed down for the count, despite Ash's calls to it to get up and win because he knew it could. Wallace waved a green referee's flag towards Misty. "Grovyle is unable to battle. The win—" Wallace stopped. Grovyle had struggled slowly to its feet, no about to give up. Wallace spread his arms out; the red and green flags pointed to Ash and Misty respectfully. "Continue the match!"

Ash was anxious. Grovyle was very weak right now, able to lose at any time. A good side to this was an effect of Grovyle's that Ash had discovered recently: whenever it was very weak, one kind of its attack grew tremendously stronger. The grass types. And he had just the move to finish the battle, using this effect. "Use one last Bullet Seed, Grovyle! Make it a strong one!" The bright yellow balls of energy that blasted forth from Grovyle's jaw were the largest and most powerful it had ever made. But Misty was ready this time.

"Hydro Pump, Gyarados! Deflect the Bullet Seed!" The burst of water that came out of the dragon's mouth was one of the most pressurized, and therefore powerful, attacks it had performed in all its life as a Pokémon.

Ash and Misty's reputations were on the line here; their constant challenge to see who was the better of the two of them had reached its peak. This final confrontation would reveal who really was the superior trainer.

The two attacks collided; a cloud of mist and steam and dust swirled into the air, concealing the happenings of the battle to the onlookers. Togetic and Pikachu were wide-awake now; they were not going to miss the climax of this battle. Ash, Misty, Brock, Max, May, Wallace, Togetic, and Pikachu watched anxiously, waiting for a visual confirmation of the end, for this was surely the end of the battle. Soon enough, nature's veil of water and air dissipated, revealing the end result of the battle below.

Gyarados was out cold, its breath creating bubbles in the surrounding water of the field. Everyone but Misty, Togetic, and Wallace were joyous at this sight, but their elation was shortly ended when they saw what had the others stock-still.

Grovyle was unconscious too.

The room was quiet as Ash and Misty returned their Pokémon. Misty walked out of the room, and silence still reigned. The echoes of her footsteps ricocheted through the room, the only sound to be heard. They soon were heard from behind Ash. He turned around, and there was Misty, a genuinely happy smile on her face. She held out her hand to shake his. "I think it's safe to say that the best trainer won, Ash." He laughed, shook her hand, and the tension was broken. The others began talking excitedly about the battle, Max especially amazed at the ending. Brock almost expected it, however.

"They've pretty much always been tied overall," he explained. "This just further proves their equality as trainers." "And probably," he added mentally, "as people."

Later on, once Nurse Joy had healed Ash and Misty's Pokémon, and Brock got a double ear pull a discussion started between Ash an the others, who explained the details of the battle and other parts that he had missed.

"The weirdest thing by far was when Misty's eyes glowed," Brock commented, about 15 minutes into the talk. "After Togepi did Safeguard, she returned to normal, not remembering anything. Wasn't that weird?" Ash scratched the back of his head.

"I actually don't remember a thing about her eyes glowing. One moment, Psyduck had lost, and the next Togepi was evolving." Max adjusted his glasses, his expression hidden behind them by the glare of the overhead lights. Brock wondered about what had seemed strange about Misty while she was in that trance-like state. He had thought it was ridiculous at the time, but his idea seemed perfectly probable now. Pikachu was thinking along the same lines. May was just plain confused, with only a small idea of what might have happened. Misty had an interesting suspicion as to why Ash didn't remember anything from that time, but wasn't sure about it at all. Suddenly, Wallace walked into the room. He had his hands behind his back and was whistling in an I'm-not-doing-anything-suspicious tone, which aroused everyone's attention, drawing them away from the confusing topic.

"What'cha got behind your back, Wallace?" May asked.

"Nothing for you, I'm afraid. Pick one or two, Brock." Brock thought for a moment.

"One." Wallace pulled his left hand out from behind his back and held it out to Ash. Brock, slightly crestfallen that the object wasn't for him, quickly got over it as he peered over Wallace's shoulder from behind. Max looked over the other shoulder, and May looked from over Ash's left shoulder. Misty glanced over his right. Wallace slowly opened his hand to reveal a small blue object. It shimmered slightly in the light, and when the glare vanished, was revealed to have darker blue streaks moving diagonally across the shape.

Misty gasped, recognized this from other places. "The Rain Badge…" she whispered. Ash, hearing her whisper so close to his ear, first tinged slightly pink, then turned sharply to look at her.

"The Rain Badge" The others, not having heard Misty the first time, jumped backwards out of shock.

Wallace pouted. "You always have to spoil my fun, don't you?" Misty smirked and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I don't understand, Wallace. What's this for?"

"What'd you think it's for? You earned the badge!"

"But—"

"You may have lost the battle, but so what? I'm a worse battler than Misty is most all cases, especially involving electric Pokémon. I would have lost for sure…and also, though you may not realize it, Misty is very talented." Misty blushed, embarrassed, while Ash looked over at her a moment, a brief look of discontent passing over his face. "She is extremely talented, as a matter of fact. She competed in the Whirl Cup and did quite well for a young trainer. She took over the Cerulean Gym and boosted its reputation tremendously, erasing most thoughts of Cerulean being an easy win from trainer's minds. She's been a fantastic gym leader-in-training, and not many have come close to beating her, let alone tying with her. And yet you did tie with her. You came as close as anyone every really has with her while she worked here. You deserve that badge, if anyone truly does."

Ash was rendered speechless by this emotion-filled sermon, having never thought of Misty really being hard to beat. Sure, she had been in a competition or two, and she was a gym leader by blood, but he had never considered she might be someone to really challenge him.

Misty sniffed. "That was beautiful, Wallace. Even though Ash already earned himself a Rain Badge, and I did lose once, remember? That kid obsessed with shorts." Wallace sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah…well, you still deserve it, Ash. One and a half losses altogether is an excellent average, especially for a gym leader. Anyway," he turned to Togetic. "One or two?" Togetic held out its two hands. Wallace pulled his left hand out from behind his back and held it out to Misty. In his hand was a piece of paper.

Misty picked it up and gasped. The water Pokémon Trainer froze, dropping the paper. Trembling slightly, she looked up at Wallace. He smiled fatherly and nodded. Misty hugged Wallace tightly around the neck, mumbling cries of thanks into is shoulder. Ash picked up the piece of paper, wondering what could have made Misty so happy as to hug someone. He read it as all the others peeked over his shoulder and read along. It was a form of some kind, and it went like this:

I, the undersigned, am of the opinion that Misty Waterflower, who has asked for consideration, is ready and most perfectly capable of being a gym leader in his/her own right.

Wallace, Gym Leader of the Rain Badge of Sootopolis City

When done reading the form, they weren't sure what to say. Togetic trilled happily, springing at its mommy to congratulate it. Pikachu also headed over to praise her, though the smile on its face seemed forced. "Gee, Misty…that's…great," Ash said weakly. "You can go back and be the gym leader in Cerulean now. Super." Misty looked up from rubbing Pikachu's head.

"You're lying through your teeth, and I want to know why. What's so bad about me being a gym leader? It'll certainly help me on my way to becoming a great Water Pokémon Master if I'm a water gym leader for a while longer…oh…" She stopped realizing what was up. "You want me to come with you guys, don't you?" Ash nodded, not able to look up and see her expression, afraid of what it might be.

"Do all of you want me to come?" Brock smiled at Misty, shaking his head in the affirmative. Max looked up at her excitedly, nodding furiously. If Misty came with them, he could learn so much about water Pokémon. May concurred her head with equal excitement. Another girl meant more opportunities for shopping sprees, especially on Princess Festival Day.

Misty turned to look at all of them in turn, not sure what to do or think. May and Max acting like bobble-head dolls; Brock just smiling at her; Wallace not knowing what to do; Pikachu just staring at the floor; Ash looking sadder by the moment. Her eyes lingered on him a moment longer, then she got a little mental message from Togetic. "Do what you think is right. Not what's best for your career, but best for you."

As Pikachu looked up at Misty, it suddenly got an idea. It slid away from the group, looking for the subject of its search. The one thing that this entire routine would hinge on—ah, there it was.

"I…I—" Misty was cut off of her decision by a loud "CHU!", which got everyone looking over to the flash of electric power that was Pikachu. It looked down at something by its feet and everyone's mouth's dropped. Next to its feet was a small, charred, pile of metal and rubber twisted together that could only be identified as:

"My—my bike." Misty turned to Ash, and her eyes sparked as she stared at him. "Why…you…" With that, she tore after Ash, swinging around her mallet and shouting about her bike being trashed again and how this time he'd actually have to pay for it himself, cause there was no Nurse Joy around to fix it. Wallace and Brock smiled as widely as possible; they knew this story by heart, and had almost hoped Pikachu would think of this.

Misty tripped and fell towards Ash. Ash caught her by her waist instinctively and pulled her upright. Misty turned to look at Ash, and he at her. They smiled at each other a moment or ten before they realized Ash was still holding Misty at the waist. They quickly turned away from each other and blushed for a moment. Brock snickered, but stopped short when two death glares of eternal pain and misery were sent his way.

Misty began to chase Ash again, though half-heartedly. Wallace walked back into the gym and came back with a Pokémon egg case. Inside was the Luvdisc egg he had given Misty earlier. He handed it to her, smiling as he did.

"Things won't be the same without you here, Misty…which may or may not be a bad thing"—he ducked to avoid a playful punch—"but take care of yourself. I'll send your sisters' this form if you ever want to become a gym leader after all. And," he whispered, very secretive all of a sudden. "Make sure to tell him someday, Misty. He has a right to know."

Misty seemed a little shocked by Wallace's final statement, but just smiled at him. "Thanks, Wallace." Misty gathered her things in her old red shoulder pack, and she was ready to go, having sent Horsea and Starmie back to the Cerulean Gym, where they could spend their days in the pool and in shows.

Wallace and his Luvdisc waited at the door to see them off. "Take care of yourselves, all of you," he said, as many had before him. "Keep an eye out for each other, and make sure to take care of that baby Luvdisc, Misty."

Misty giggled. "Don't worry, I will."

"Good luck in your contests May; remember everything I've told you about what I know. Always learn more about Pokémon, Max. There's never a limit to knowledge. Keep doing your best as a breeder, Brock. I know you'll do great, if you keep doing as well as you have."

"I'll do my best, Wallace!"

"I will!"

"Thanks, Wallace." The five friends, along with their Pokémon, walked out the door and down the road, waving to the Sootopolis Gym Leader and his pink Pokémon, who were waving back and smiling broadly. The moment they were out of site, Wallace dashed inside and began typing on his computer.

"So…where are we going now, Max?" Max took a look at the Pokénav, and did some calculations.

"There's a Contest in the next town, and it's in the right direction to head for the Hoenn League." Ash smiled widely.

"Great!" He cried out, running ahead a bit. "Let's go!" The others raced after him.

"I think I'll compete in the Contest in this next town." Misty said suddenly. "It could be fun." Ash snorted. Misty turned on him. "And what was that about, Ash Ketchum? Don't you think I can do it? Do you?"

Ash backed away from the glare on Misty's face, sweatdropping. "No, not that…"

"Then what?"

"…I just don't think they'll let someone like you enter…" Ash mumbled. Misty's head seemed to grow larger, and lightning crackled behind her.

"Why not?" Ash looked off to the side slyly, half-wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.

"…well, I thought they want people who are graceful and talented…"

"Ash Ketchum!" Misty stormed over to Ash.

"Eep!" Ash raced over to Brock, ducking behind the breeder's back.

"Come back here!" Misty chased Ash in circles around Brock, May, and Max. This went on for a few minutes. Max and May sweatdropped, unfamiliar with this scenario. Brock, Pikachu, and Togetic sweatdropped, all too familiar with this happening. Brock and Togetic sent Pikachu a look, and it jumped into the air, cheeks sparkling.

"Pi…ka…chu!" Ash and Misty fell to the ground, electric sparks traveling up and down their bodies. Moments later, they were up again, glaring daggers at each other. Brock held off Misty, while Togetic and Pikachu kept Ash back.

"Guys," Brock began. "Calm down. There's no reason to get so mad at each other, right?"

"Wrong!" Ash and Misty screamed at the same time.

"He shouldn't insult me!"

"She shouldn't chase me like that!"

"If you hadn't insulted me, I wouldn't have chased you!"

"I wouldn't have insulted you if you hadn't mentioned yourself entering a Contest!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's laughable, that's what!"

"Oh, is it?"

"Yeah, it is!" Ash and Misty snorted clouds of dust and glared giant rapiers of death at each other. Pikachu shocked them again, and they calmed down. As if knocked out of one mood and into another, Ash took out his Rain Badge and polished it a bit to remove the dust and charred bits of cloth.

"Another day, another badge," he said, suddenly happy, holding his newest badge up so it would reflect the sunlight. The rainfall-shaped badge seemed almost alive, glowing with a watery energy that a real storm would envy.

"That was an awesome battle, Ash." Max commented. "Misty had a really powerful team!"

Misty smiled warmly. "Aw, thanks Max!" The kid flushed and lowered his eyes, muttering something indistinct.

"Yeah, but Pikachu and Grovyle handled it just fine." Ash commented.

"You lost, Ash. Won't you ever admit that a gym battle was actually challenging?" Misty asked, annoyed with Ash's constant overconfidence. Sometimes it was like he hadn't aged since that first time she met him.

"Why should I if they never are?"

"I know quite a few gym leaders that would contradict you on that statement, Ash. Myself included." Misty challenged.

"Name five." Ash dared his friend.

"Easy: Brock; Sabrina; Erika; me; me." Misty proclaimed.

Ash sweatdropped. "Okay…so I have lost once in a while…but not always! And I didn't lose to you!"

"Right…you just didn't win. Just like you didn't win against Brock, or Sabrina, or Erika…"

"Oh, be quiet!"

"Why should I?"

"…because!"

"Because you hate it when you're wrong?"

"No!"

"Of course you do!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Brock sighed nostalgically, watching Ash and Misty argue loudly and annoyingly. "It's good to have them back together and back to normal, isn't it?"

"Pika…" Pikachu nodded, its ears flopping.

Togetic shook its head, remembering similar scenarios from before it had evolved. "Toge tic…" What exciting times those had been…

May and Max just sweatdropped.

"If you say so, Brock…" Max said, watching Ash and Misty start to get violent.

May noticed Ash blush and run off when he got too close to Misty. "…if you say so…"

---

The picture was fuzzy, but that was to be expected—the signal wasn't at its best. Sound was low quality, but good enough to hear the voice he despised so much.

"Hey, does someone hear that beeping?" His heart stilled for a moment—had they found his equipment so quickly? Curse the mechanical noise the faulty equipment made! Fingers flew across the keyboard as he quickly altered the recorder's programming, so as to silence it. If there was one thing he was thankful for in this accursed second life, it was that he had the chance to learn how to live in it, unlike the despised ones. They would be completely dependent on their hosts' knowledge.

He would be free of such attachments; he knew enough to live in the body without such worthless baggage.

"…maybe something's wrong with the Pokénav?" He paused. This could play to his advantage…quickly altering the program to begin on a signal from a single key, he sat back until the moment would come.

The small boy bent down and pulled the yellow colored object out of his pack. "If you're sure…" He held a trembling finger over the Enter key, waiting. The boy popped open the battery case and he pressed the key quickly, just as the boy pulled out a battery.

Vision was gone; one of them most likely had their hand closed around the lens. Sound was fine, though.

"…I guess that was it. I'll find some new batteries and replace it so we can find our way around."

"We certainly need help like that, don't we boys?"

"I'll have you know I haven't gotten lost once since we last saw each other."

A snort. "Of course not; fifteen times, right?"

"No…that was him."

"Hey! You got us lost too, ya know!"

A sigh. "Boys?"

"Boys."

Light appeared on screen, then the lens refocused as the one boy smiled into the lens fondly. Another face appeared; red hair.

"Why are you keeping that one? You already have eight. And shouldn't you put that in your case?"

Brown hair appeared before black-haired could argue. "She's right, you know. You might lose it if you keep it out—or Team Rocket might try and steal it, like they do Ribbons."

The first face smiled warmly at brown hair. "Yeah, I think the case was built to fit more that eight. Hold this?" The reddish-faced, brown head accepted the camera as the first face opened up his pack and pulled out a narrow black case. He opened it up and took the spy equipment from the brown haired girl. Vision was lost yet again as the case closed on the camera, leaving it in the dark. Knowing it wouldn't be opened for awhile, he turned off the camera, so as to not waste the energy. Sound was muffled, but still there.

"Nice job getting that."

"Thanks, man."

"It was so awesome!"

"He lost! What's so awesome about that?"

"That, in the end, I still won."

"Ooh, you are so pigheaded, so…so…ugh!"

"Finally run out of names for me, Mist?"

"Just you wait, Ash Ketchum! Once I get my bike from you, it's straight to Cerulean for me!"

Silence.

The case was being placed back in the pack, he realized. Maybe he wouldn't be able to hear after all? Was all this a waste of time and effort?

Then the voices came back at full force, and he smiled for the first time in over five hundred years.

He would have his revenge, whether the despised ones knew it or not.

---

Fanfic reading suggestion of the chapter:

"Cavern of a Million Colors," by Eeveebeth Fejvu.

Official description:

A novel. A mythical cave doesn't seem like such a bad place to get trapped in, especially with your best friend. However, when a frightening occurrence happens to Ash & Misty, will Brock, May, and Max be able to help get them out of there... alive? AAML

An excellent story; very long chapters and excellent storyline twisted off of a moment in a famous Kanto episode. I'll let you read any more of it for yourself.

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Reviews!

Ri2: Right…Misty went through a list given to her by Ash's Pokédex, as I recall. I had a feeling you meant Mizuna. Yes, yes, I know. I have a more specific outline on paper and some scenes written out, but I still need to pull it all together. I figured I should finish this off and would then have less to do (though I still have a lot to do anyway --').

Yes, very strange. I guess it will never be explained. ;P Yes, Togepi winned, and Meowth is fully conscious of its actions and whatnot. That's very possible, but it might not be. Looking back, that's very likely, as Meowth quite willingly gave Togepi to the Boss ("Battle for the Badge"). Oh, well. It works with this plot, so I'm going with it. Who knows? It learned something; who can say Meowth can't learn anything, anyway? Why? Another mystery yet to be solved…evolution indeed!

Probably; yes, very much so; too much indeed; if you say so (--'); it will be, soon enough (not soon enough for you, I'm sure); totally is; not necessarily in this order.

Aw, don't feel bad; he was in Florida when those chapters were posted, so I was responding to two reviews, not one. -pats on head- Don't worry; you're still the longest review-giving reviewer I have.

I hope you like this ending I added; I have a feeling it will reveal more to you as to what is up'n'coming and allow you to predict the story. And I just liked the danger twisting away from the innocent, happy ending I had before.

Soft Flame Matthias: I'm glad you approved of last chapter's tension. It doesn't get much better than that in this one. Ah, a road trip. That explains it all so well…

So very true. The end to innocence and the beginning of maturity…sort of. Next, however, must come acceptance. And now you know who's behind the door—good for you!

o.O People actually read these things…besides me, I mean? I never knew. -feels silly- And Ri2 was just being a sore loser…he just wants to have the longest response every time. Last chapter you claimed that title, so he decided to act his age. (;P to Ri2 if he's reading this)

And…I'd be happy to read what next you write, and what you have written, the moment I can breathe away from writing and schoolwork and other readings. Oy, the pain of high school; it sucks the creativity right out of you until you have no time to mark it down somewhere. --

dbzgtfan2004: Thanks so much for your kind review! I greatly appreciate such kind comments from a reader, especially a new one. I could go on and on in my gratitude, but I think you get the idea…I hope you enjoy this last chapter and the stories planned for the future.

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For your information, and possible help from any confusion:

The "He" and "His" placed around in this last section were meant to be in the "small caps" style of font to make "Him" distinctly different from the pronoun "he," as I am not yet ready to reveal "His" name. However, neither ff DOT net, nor my other site of choice, supports "small caps," so I left it in sentence form. If it confuses you, I'm sorry.

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Attention!

Writers of fanfiction DOT net, listen to me! A petition has been created to allow us the right to respond to reviews again (though I do it anyway). Please, sign the petition so we may be one step closer to our goal of 200 signatures; the rule may be revoked and our communications to readers reopened!

The webpage is: http COLON / www DOT petitionspot DOT com / petitions / reviewrule.

My eternal gratitude if you sign!

See you at the next part of this trilogy (which I still have not named): Prophecies of the Summoned!

gladdecease