Ages: Ash 16 Misty 16 Serena 14 Bonnie 7 Clemont 19
"Serena, are you sure Professor Sycamore said to meet him here?" Ash asked, "I don't see anybody." The four traveling companions sighed and sat on the ground. Serena checked the email for the fourth time.
"He said on Misty Beach, and he said ten minutes ago."
"Let's stop wandering and take a break. He might find us if we stop moving around." Clemont suggested and they took out some food for their break.
"Wait, I think I see something!" Bonnie jumped up excitedly and shielded her eyes to look out towards the ocean. Everyone else joined her as sure enough something was coming over the water towards them, but the splashes it was making made the object impossible to distinguish. They all watched for a while more before Serena realized something quite important.
"Guys, that thing is heading right for us and it isn't slowing down!" her voice got more frantic towards the end of her words and she, Bonnie, and Clemont all scrambled backwards to get out of the way. Ash stared for a couple seconds too long and as he got hit by the wave the thing created. It stopped suddenly before the water got too shallow and a figure launched itself from the Pokémon's head. The person seemed to do a double flip in mid-air before hitting the sand hard and falling to her knees. Serena and the others who had escaped the wave created by the giant water Pokémon crept closer. None of them quite recognized it.
"Thanks Gyrados, the launch was perfect and I would have nailed the landing on anything but sand. No more practicing that dumb move for my sisters Take a rest." She had been petting the Pokémon before recalling it and out of her bag popped a little blue Pokémon with a huge ball on the end of its tail and cute ears. It was only then that the stranger turned and noticed the people on the beach.
Serena observed the girl had carrot orange hair that ended about halfway down her back and it was that sort of sexy messy look you see after someone gets out of the water. She wore a white one piece that was cut high on the legs the way serious swimmers liked it with a blue half Pokéball design on the chest area. She didn't have much in the way of curves but her legs looked miles long and were nicely muscled. For the swimmer look the girl still had milky white skin instead of the usual tan.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't think anyone was on this beach and ordered Gyrados full speed. Is everyone okay?" The girl looked really troubled and Serena put the girl at Ash's age. Crap Ash!
But Serena was beaten to him when the Gyrados trainer noticed a body nearby and rushed over shrieking.
"Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry, oh a Pokémon! Wait." She had been holding the boy with scraggy hair up and had moved his head onto her lap when she noticed a Pikachu nearby. A little past the Pikachu was a baseball cap and it was only then that Misty realized exactly who she had crashed into on her first day in Kalos. Pikachu was in reach so she reached over and pulled the Pokémon into her arms.
Ash for his part he been knocked out for a bit, but a concerned voice called him back to consciousness. He looked up and saw beautiful blue-green eyes looking down at him in something like shock. The pretty orange color of her hair fell forward to frame her face and he thought the yellow blob in her arms was Pikachu.
"Are you an angel? I really didn't think that after everything I've survived a little tidal wave would be what killed me." Seeing the angel continued to look shocked he decided to keep talking, "then again, Misty always swore that with the amount of times I almost drowned there was no other way for me to go." Hearing Misty's name seemed to jolt the angel into responding.
"Umm, you're not dead. Neither is Pikachu, here see." The girl place his friend on his chest and Ash could feel Pikachu breathing and starting to wake up. Okay so he wasn't dead and he was simply laying in the lap of a beautiful girl after being knocked out. He supposed he had woken up in worse situations than this. He sat up and poked at Pikachu. He saw the beauty visibly relax when his ears peaked up and his eyes opened. Then the girl drew his attention back to her.
"Wait, you don't know who I am?" He shook his head.
"Sorry, are you like really famous or something? I'm a traveling trainer and don't get to see the news much. I totally crashed into some actress named Dianthe or something and had no idea who she was. My name's Ash." He stuck out his hand and the girl looked at it confused. Maybe they didn't shake hands where she came from, there weren't many redheads in Kalos, and so he reached out and took hers and shook it while grinning. "This is how you shake hands." And he just kept holding her hand while she scrutinized him. Okay, no one is that famous and she should really stop looking at him like she didn't know what to do. He was just being friendly. Pikachu finally noticed the beauty and for some reason was overjoyed.
"Pikachupi!" and the next thing Ash knew Pikachu was in the arms of the stranger and she was hugging him with a sweet smile on her face. Then an Azuril bounced over and joined in the hug. Wait, no, crap. He leaned back in shock and Misty saw that he finally recognized her.
"Took you long enough. How you even remember your own name without Pikachu on your shoulder is a mystery to me." She grinned back and the mischievous tint that was so much more familiar to him than her concerned face made the final connection in his head.
"Misty!" and he tackled her in a hug just like his Pokémon had.
Off to the side Serena and the others had watched the scene astounded. They knew Ash would be alright, but watching him with the girl had been a sight to see. Serena's heart had broken a little when he first called her an angel and broke a lot more when he started flirting. Seeing Pikachu tackle the stranger into a hug was strange, but seeing the experienced trainer follow suit was even stranger. She decided to cut in and hope the girl was his sister or something.
"Hey Ash, are you okay?" Serena called and Ash sent her that devil may care smile that melted her heart.
"I'm fine, a little wave won't keep me down. Plus I'm never in danger from water when Misty's here." The girl named Misty sat up and grimaced.
"Don't jinx anything. You're stupid enough that even I can't always save you from yourself." Ash blushed and scratched the back of his neck and Serena immediately didn't like the girl. Who was she to talk about her friend like that?
"Hey, you're the one who caused that giant wave in the first place, watch who you're calling stupid. We could have been seriously hurt." Misty, Pikachu, and Ash looked surprised at her outburst.
"Serena, it's not like that. The scrawny runt over here was just joking, don't take anything mean she says seriously." He was defending the chick that ran him over and insulted him. It was then that Serena knew she had competition for the boy's heart. Misty hit him on the arm for the scrawny comment.
"What are you doing here anyway Misty? Who is watching the Gym? I know how hard you worked to build that up." Misty smiled.
"Indigo League start up yesterday, the Gym has been closed for a week already and going to be closed for the next couple of weeks while the tournament happens. I'm supposed to meet someone called Professor Sycamore here. He contacted Professor Oak asking for an experienced Gyrados trainer a while ago and now here I am. Like I would pass up the opportunity to come to Kalos, the region of romance." Ash chuckled at her last sigh.
"I forgot how much a romantic you are. These are my friends, Serena, Clemont, and his sister Bonnie." Misty got up and walked over to each of them shaking their hands, she smiled when she got to Serena.
"Hi, so you're the new girl. What are you? Coordinator? Specialist? Connoisseur? Another Gym Leader? I'm betting coordinator based on your stylish outfit." Misty smiled at what she thought to be a compliment. Misty had met Dawn when the girl got lost traveling the Kanto circuit and while she was a bit of a drama queen Dawn had skills and heart. Iris she had met during her one day lay-over in Unova when Azuril and Axeu decided to run away together into the city. She had finally decided that Ash just had a knack for find the most talented and potential filled girls to travel with and waited to hear what Serena had going for her.
Serena felt devastated inside. Was she just another in a long line of Ash's female traveling companions? She had always thought Ash invited her to travel with him because she was special, not just a replacement for someone else. And she wasn't any of those things, she just wanted to travel. If Ash was used to traveling with exciting dream driven people, how could he possibly like her?
When the girl made no response and it started to get a little awkward, so Misty turned to Clemont instead.
"What about you? Why are you traveling with Ash?" Clement straightened and looked embarrassed.
"I was the Luminoise city Gym Leader, now I'm just getting inspirations for inventions." Bonnie smiled.
"Yep, my big brother is the best ever. One day he'll make an invention that works right." And she patted the blushing young man on the leg proudly.
"Glad you all could get acquainted." Professor Sycamore said from the forest beyond the beach, "Sorry I'm late, but this is really rather important. I think I found the stone that can trigger Gyrados's mega evolution. I assume you're the Gym Leader Professor Oak told me about?" Misty nodded, "Wonderful, when I asked for a tough trainer that not only battled well with a Gyrados but was truly connected to it on a deep level he told me he knew just the person. Now, what do you know about mega evolution?"
"Not much, just that it's so Kalos specific and new that no other leagues have allowed the use it yet. I'm guessing it requires a deep bond with a Pokémon and certain stones?" The professor didn't seem able to contain his excitement and grabbed Misty's hands.
"Tres Magnifique! Tu as perfecto." Misty melted at the French and Ash bristled a bit. He hated it when Misty got that shimmering look in her eye about someone. He really should be over it considering how long it had been, but the professor can keep his mani-fik away from Misty.
"It requires the deepest bond! And it is known to create an additional evolution for certain types of Pokémon. It connects the trainer with the Pokémon using two rare stones, and I think I've found a couple of Gyradosite stones. That's what the examination says, but you really can't know for sure unless you try it out on a Gyrados. The Pokémon isn't common in Kalos though, and Gyrados are notoriously hard to get close to emotionally. That's where you come in ma Cherie." Misty was blushing, and Ash was getting annoyed.
"Then why did you ask us to come Professor?" Ash butted in.
"Oh yes, Mega evolution is temporary and occurs only in the heat of an extreme battle, I want you to battle Misty Ash." The two old friends looked at each other and Pikachu shook his head vigorously from where he had been playing with Azuril. Now he jumped on Ash's should to explain to the professor exactly why "pikapi" and "pikachupi" should not fight. Ash only picked up a few words, but he got the gist of it.
"Pikachu won't fight Misty. There's something about how she always uses baby Pokémon against him that he probably doesn't want to deal with. But he is also saying something about relationships and destiny that I don't quite understand. I don't want to battle Misty anyway, I already know she is beyond tough, but I wouldn't be able to get into it." He shook his head, "I'm with Pikachu Professor." Serena had never seen Ash turn down a battle and watched for Misty's reaction. She was shaking no too.
"Don't get me wrong, I would love to let Gyrados achieve a state of power beyond what she has now, but fighting Ash won't do it. Our battles always turn out weird, and how can I kick him out of his LBD if I'm the one that caused it? We battle to solve something or when we have to in a tournament, but otherwise no." Sycamore looked confused.
"You two already know each other? And what is LBD?" Now Ash smiled again.
"Yeah, I got Pikachu from Professor Oak and later that day Misty helped me out of a bunch of trouble." Misty snorted at this and muttered something about the word help and bikes that left Ash blushing. "We traveled for about two and a half years together after that. Pikachu still has a special name for her; "pikachupi" has always meant Misty. LBD is what Misty called it in the early days when I got disappointed after losing a battle. Lost Battle Depression." Pikachu seemed satisfied and jumped off Ash's shoulder to resume playing with Azuril. Professor Sycamore looked thoughtful.
"Well then I guess you are going to have to find someone strong enough to give you a real challenge Misty. Here, give your Gyrados this stone and make sure to wear this small one while you are battling," Misty nodded and took the stones, "I need to get back to my lab, but I need you to tell me if that really is Gyradosite. Would one of you be willing to tape Misty's battles so that when Gyrados evolves it gets recorded for my study?" He turned to the other three. Ash was hopeless with technology and leaving a video camera in Clemont's possession was asking for it to be modified and destroyed.
"I'll do it." Bonnie finally volunteered. Everything was settled and the Professor took off back towards Luminoise city. Then it hit Serena exactly what just happened.
"Wait, so are you going to be traveling with us?" Ash and Misty shared a look and Ash got a grin that threatened to split his face.
"Looks like it! Think you can put up with me for a couple weeks Mist? It's in the name of science." Ugh, he even had a cute nickname for the girl.
Misty pretended to think about it, "I don't know, Azuril? What do you think? Should we travel with Pikachu and Ash for a couple weeks?" The Pokémon bounced excitedly, "I think we can survive. Where are we headed?"
The next couple of days were torture for Serena. Misty seemed to fit perfectly into their group and her outfit was hideous. A yellow no-sleeve hoodie with baggy shorts and her hair pulled back into a plain ponytail. Plus she liked training her Pokémon way too much. But Ash seemed to eat it up! They got into battle tactics discussions easily and while they never excluded Serena, she felt like she didn't belong. Serena couldn't help but give the cold shoulder to the water trainer.
One day Misty asked for her help collecting water and Serena had to agree or wish looking like a selfish brat. As soon as they were a good distance away from camp Misty tried to start a conversation with the girl.
"You know, Professor Sycamore is pretty cute for a professor." Serena grunted.
"So why do you think Bonnie keeps trying to get Clemont a wife?" Misty tried again and all she got was a shrug in response. The water trainer about faced and confronted the girl straight on.
"Okay Serena, what is your problem? I have tried everything I know to be nice to you and still you treat me like crap. If you have a problem with me say it." Misty looked the girl in the eye and waited.
"Nothing, there is no problem. What could be wrong with perfect Misty?" Serena tossed out, ready for a good fight after keeping her emotions in check for days.
"Perfect? Wait are you jealous? Of what? You're the one that gets to freaking travel the world. I'm here for one more week at the most before I end up stuck back at the Gym. Do you even know what kind of adventures are in store for you? The awesome battles you'll get to see? What do you have to be jealous of?" Misty said viciously. Serena answered back louder.
"How about the Misty that can do no wrong? Oh she spend hours insulting me and hours pushing her Pokémon, but we love her to death anyway. Let's swoon at the gorgeous Misty, even though she has no fashion sense and spends all her time ruining her clothes in the mud! Look at how unbeatable Misty is, I'm not sure we can find a challenge for her in all of Kalos. Serena who? Oh she is just another girl that I travel with, not as talented as the others but she was the best I could find." Once Serena had yelled herself out and was crying she collapsed against a tree and just didn't care anymore. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked into Misty's sympathetic eyes.
"You're in love with him." A statement, not a question. Serena couldn't meet the other girl's eyes.
"I forgot, I was just like that when I first met May, but it isn't like that with Ash at all. You aren't a replacement Serena, please understand that." Misty begged, Serena just looked at her like "don't lie".
"It's true!" Misty protested, "I have met every single one of Ash's companions, girls and guys, and they all are exactly what he needs to save the day and get his dream. May was completely scared of Pokémon when she first got Torchic and Iris has a Dragonite that refused to listen to her. On our first trip against Team Rocket I got so flustered I sent out a Goldeen to battle on dry land. We all started out pretty sucky. Ash sees you as special Serena, never forget that that. He is good at seeing people for exactly who they are and he thought you were the perfect person to travel with. So are Clement and Bonnie." Serena seemed to be paying attention to her now and Misty tried to think of ways to reassure the girl.
"So what if you don't know what you want to do while on your journey? The point of a journey is to find out exactly who you want to be and what you want to do. I actually stalked Ash for the first two weeks because he destroyed my bike and I didn't want to go home a failure. You'll figure everything out as you learn more about what other people do and how they interact with Pokémon." Misty didn't know what else to say so she fell silent, then she realized the perfect metaphor.
"Does Ash love Fletching more than Froakie?"
"What? Of course not!" Serena said, "Ash cares about them both." Misty smiled.
"That's how Ash treats us. Each unique and valuable with something important to give and something to teach him. It hurts him to see us not be friends because he never felt like he replaced me. It only looked like he did, but never in his heart."
"Great, so Ash thinks of me as a Pokémon."
"Better, he thinks of you as a dear friend."
"Do you love him?" Serena asked, and it was Misty's turn to slump against the tree in defeat. After a little while Misty poured out her heart.
"You know, I haven't seen him face to face in ages, I thought I had truly fallen out of love with the guy this time. I swore that after my heart broke when he first left I would never give it to him again, but every stupid time we meet it happens. The first time it was all about how caring he was with his Pokémon and the hero complex. I've talked with May and Dawn and they both admitted to having crushes on him for the same reason, but when they saw him again the crush had faded into simply friendship. For me the feelings just changed. Now it's more than before, it's the way he challenges me and makes me a better person and I can do the same for him. It's the way that no matter how much we fight we care for the other person's desires more than our own. Maybe it's still stupid, and I will probably get my heart broken again by how oblivious that kid can be, but that's life." Hearing Misty's side of the story made Serena give her the respect everyone had given her naturally. She realized Misty hadn't been joking when she asked Azuril if she should travel with them because she was asking if she should get her heart broken again. Yet she came.
"Why did you travel with us if you knew your heart would break?" Here Misty blushed.
"I…I guess I just really wanted to travel Kalos. The boys, the Pokémon, the scenery, it's all beautiful. I love the little adventures we get up to and I hate traveling alone. Is all of that worth a broken heart? I thought it was. Plus Ash was pulling his puppy eyes and I can never say no to those, in love with him or not." Serena had just one more question for the girl that had experienced so much.
"What should I do?" Misty looked at her and knew that her advice would seriously influence the girl's decision.
"Some things are worth getting your heart broken for Serena. I am nearly positive that until Ash achieves his dream of being a Pokémon Master he won't have time for love or romance. But the world is huge, and with Ash you get to see pieces of it that no one else will ever see and meet people that will change your life. Chances are you'll get to meet a legendary or two. Dawn and May both have the confidence and friends to be successful at whatever they want to do with their lives despite getting their heart a little broken. It heals pretty fast when you are achieving your dream. In the meantime, don't expect anything from Ash but friendship. When he called me an angel it was the first time I ever heard him compliment a girl on her looks, and he had just been knocked unconscious three seconds before." Serena nodded and finished wiping the tears from her face. She smiled at the unfashionable tomboy, glad to finally understand her.
"You know it would be easier to make Ash realize you're a member of the opposite sex if you dressed better." Serena joked and was happy when she got a knock on the arm for her teasing. Now she understood why everyone was okay with the insults and the punches from the girl. It was simply Misty's way of showing she cared about you.
"And then what pretty outfit would I ruin testing the strength of Corsala's water gun or climbing up a tree after Azuril?" Misty retorted. The girls finally got the water from the stream and no one questioned about why they were gone so long. The other three companions merely accepted the lightened atmosphere. Well, Ash did shoot some suspicious looks at Misty, but an innocent smile was all the answer he received.
The days were filled with even more chaos than usual with Misty and the adventures never seemed to stop. Then came the surprising development of Azuril evolving into a Marril after a nasty bout with team Rocket. Misty could not believe her baby was growing up, everyone else was happy, and the troublesome streak didn't seem to have changed in the aquatic rodent. So life continued the same for pretty much everyone.
Except Pikachu.
Ash got really concerned when Pikachu's behavior changed rapidly. Pikachu was suddenly a lot shyer and blushed a lot. He was fine with everyone else, but when Misty would cuddle Marril he would sit with the person farthest from her and almost never rode on Ash's shoulder if he was talking to Misty. Finally he decided to ask Misty about it, seeing as she has known Pikachu the longest.
"Well Ash, I have an inkling about what is going on but I'm going to need your help to understand it completely." They were walking a little in front of everyone else and Misty was holding Marril in her arms. As had become common Pikachu was walking with Bonnie instead of riding on Ash's shoulders.
"Anything Misty, Pikachu won't even tell me what the matter is. I'm getting worried." Then Misty gave him a look that made him rethink his promise of 'anything'.
"Why were you so mean to John yesterday?" Misty asked. Ash looked surprised at where this was going.
"What are you talking about? I was perfectly friendly with the guy." Ash defended.
"You told him to call out his Pokémon or take a hike off a cliff."
"I didn't mean literally, and I just wanted the battle to start. It wasn't even proper pre-battle boasting smack talk." Ash folded his arms.
"You sure it wasn't because he asked me to dinner?" Misty looked back at him equally skeptic.
"Psssh. Of course not, I just wanted a good battle. None of the people here seem to be giving you a challenge."
"What about Jack, you were really rude to him too. Most people don't insult other people's hair right to their face."
"Come on, his hair was asking for it." Misty let out a frustrated growl.
"That's it. I can get through to Pikachu faster than I'll get through to you. If you won't admit your jealousy then there is nothing I can do to help you. Luckily Pikachu doesn't have as thick of a skull. Hold Marril." She shoved her Pokémon into Ash's arms and walked back to where Pikachu was. Misty offered her arm and Pikachu climbed up without hesitation. Misty fell back a couple more steps and Ash couldn't hear what she told him but was dying to find out. A few minutes later she walked back to the front and Pikachu jumped onto his master's shoulders. Misty grabbed Marril back and continued walking.
"What did Misty say to you? What's wrong?" But Pikachu refused to answer and just nuzzled Ash a little before climbing onto his hat and curling up.
"Misty what did you say to him?" Ash whined. Misty should not be allowed to know something about Pikachu that he didn't.
"I told him that Marril had a crush on him and it was okay that he liked her back." And with that Misty fell behind to talk to Clement about what he was inventing. Ash was shocked and couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Pikachu had been having girl trouble. They came across another person who wanted to battle and this time Misty flirted back, much to Ash's chagrin. She swept the floor with him though and they moved on. Day after day, mile after mile. Bonnie keeping her promise to film each match.
Then came the opponent, a handsome blonde man who refused to give his name.
"Hello, I hear you're a water trainer looking for a real battle? I happen to be a water trainer myself, interested?" The guy was fly and Misty was impressed. He looked artsy and romantic without looking gay and she decided a little flirting was in order.
"That's not all I'm interested in, but a battle's a good start. I'm Misty by the way." Instead of shaking her hand the mystery guy gently brought her hand up to his lips to kiss. Misty blushed then, still very unused to this flirting business. There was the familiar twitch entering Ash's eye. Confronting him a couple days ago had resulted in his complete denial that he cared and she hadn't actually flirted back with anyone until after that moment. Before she had politely shoved it off and the guys were usually less romantic after she whipped them in a battle.
"Okay, enough already. It's going to be a one-on-one and Misty is training her Gyrados so we need a water arena, I assume you won't object?" Ash said roughly. He started dragging Misty by the elbow towards a lake they had just passed. She laughed at Ash, but wished she could tell him not to worry. After hearing him call her an angel on the beach Misty knew that he now found her attractive. In fact their own mini arguments could be seen as flirty if only he would admit it.
Misty gave Marril to Clemont and took a place on a jutting rock before calling out her beloved Pokémon. Cute guy was still picking his way towards a rock opposite her and she called Gyrados over to talk before the battle.
"Okay, I have a feeling that this will be the battle. He's also a water trainer so expect something fast. I know we can win, and never mind how cute he is okay." Misty stroked the crest and Gyrados let out a pleased purr. She saw her opponent climb onto the rock finally and looked the atrocious Pokémon in the eye, "Now, let's show this punk what the Cerulean Gym and all of Kanto is made of. Let me see your game face." Her Pokémon narrowed its eyes and let out a roar to the sky. Misty felt pumped.
"Call out your Pokémon!" Was her battle cry. And she became even more delighted when he sent out his own Gyrados. It looked tough and was the same size as hers, yep, this was the battle.
"Whirlpool!" Misty called out, testing its speed before she tried anything too tiring, like her hyper beam.
"Whirlpool clockwise!" shouted her opponent. The water was tumultuous from the two attacks, Misty's Gyrados on the outside, but neither seemed able to sweep the other one away.
"Dive under and use flamethrower!" Misty called. It wasn't as stupid as it sounded. Hyper beam took a long time to charge up and fish barbequed as easily as any other creature.
"Jump out of the water and meet the flame thrower with a water gun!" The Pokémon did and Misty ended up taking a lot of damage. Man that guy can jump.
"Keep it up! We aren't out of the game yet! Tackle!" Misty yelled and the Pokémon launched itself and got a glancing blow against its opponent. The trainer obviously hadn't expected a physical move and was paying for it.
"Now use Hyper beam from close in!" Misty called. He matched her hyper beam and both Pokémon suffered damage but were still willing to fight.
"Hydro pump" he called and Misty quickly ordered a dodge underwater.
"Crunch!" She called and watched as the other Gyrados flipped her's out of the water wincing from the pain of the attack. The Pokémon sailed towards her side of the field and Misty could tell both Pokémon were having the battle of their lives. Then she felt something around her neck get warm and she looked down to see the mega stone necklace glowing. Suddenly her Pokémon let out a roar and the top half of its body grew in width till the mega evolution was complete.
"That's wonderful Gyrados! Now we need to finish this match! Dragon Rage!" The waters grew even rougher than they had been and Gyrados let out a purple beam of energy that hit the opponent straight on. Ash, who had been acting as ref for the battle, declared the challenger's Pokémon unable to battle and Misty let out a whoop for joy.
She jumped into the water and swam to her Pokémon hugging its nose and praising her. She could feel the evolution leaving and scratched under the Pokémon's now normal size chin. Then she climbed behind the crest and her Pokémon knew she wanted to talk to the opponent and swam her over. Misty climbed onto his makeshift trainer's platform, but kept a hand on her precious Pokémon.
"Thank you for the awesome battle," she said smiling hugely. This time he really shook her hand.
"Do I even get to know the name of the trainer that pushed us into an extra evolution?" She asked and he considered.
"I'm sure someone will tell you once that video gets around. Just know that beating me is no easy feat and you are to be commended for it. I look forward to hearing about the exploits of the great Misty of Kanto. I shall store the memory of you and your Gyrados away forever in the memory of my heart." He kissed her hand one more time before turning and disappearing into the forest, leaving her a blushing mess. Misty looked at Gyrados and did what Misty understood as the Pokémon version of a shrug. Then she jumped on Gyrados and together they swam for shore where her friends awaited.
"Misty that was an awesome battle!" Ash congratulated and everyone else gave in their two cents about how wonderful the battle was.
"I finally understand what Professor Sycamore meant by having a strong bond with your Pokémon. Gyrados understood you perfectly and you worked together so well. How did you guys get so close?" Serena asked. Fenniken never worked that way with her and she wanted to know the secret. Misty and her Gyrados shared a look and Misty knew she had permission to share the story.
"I guess I just related to her on a personal level. Sure it started by earning her trust and diving in front of a poison sting when Gyrados couldn't defend herself, but that was just the start. She had been a small magicarp and suddenly she became a huge fish in a much smaller pool. I felt like that. Before I was just a traveler in the wide world doing my two bits to make the world a better place and out of nowhere I became a big bad Gym Leader, and the only thing keeping our family Gym from being shut down. It was like I just evolved and didn't know how to do anything right either. After that she helped me see different parts of Kanto so I still felt like I was traveling while I made sure she got long swims in lakes and oceans. She means the world to me and I to her." The atrocious Pokémon nuzzled her trainer and Bonnie was staring wide eyed at the trainer.
"That's so amazing, I want a Pokémon like that." Misty smiled at the girl.
"I'm sure you'll find one. Ash and Serena did."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.
"Well, you and Fenniken, both of you are new to the world and the relationship. Both of you are trying really hard to make it work despite the bumps. Maybe you should find out what Fenniken wants to do and let that help you figure things out." Serena had never thought of it that way.
The last days of traveling with their friend Misty flew by in a flash. They emailed the professor the footage of Misty's battle and he was beyond pleased. When Misty offered to return the stones he insisted that she keep them because so few trainers were actually close enough to their Gyrados to achieve mega evolution and it would be a shame to waste the stone by keeping it in a lab. Plus he had found two more stones of the same type that he could study now as officially Gyradosite. Misty still protested until he insisted in French and she gave in.
Finally the day came where Misty had to leave and everyone was gathered on the beach. Misty hugged everyone and no one commented when she hugged Ash longer than most.
"You know Misty, I finally found out who your mystery opponent was." Clement said casually. He had everyone's attention as he continued, "Siebold, Water Elite of Kalos." Everyone stared at him shocked. Seriously, Misty beat an elite one-on-one. Then Misty started laughing, and laughing, and laughing, until she was literally collapsed on the ground.
"See, coming to Kalos was a brilliant idea." Misty finally said.
"Goodbye everyone," Misty said one final time before calling out Gyrados. She waited for Pikachu and Marril to finish saying goodbye. Once the bump of Pikachu's embarrassment about being attracted to the younger Pokémon was dealt with the two had become nearly inseparable and were constantly showing each other affection. It broke the hearts of everyone in the group that the two had to be parted. Serena knew there was something she had to say, something to thank the water trainer for all the advice and growth.
"Hey Misty," Serena called and Misty walked a little ways away from everyone to see what her new friend wanted. Misty got tackled in a hug by the girl and Serena managed to whisper something that broke her heart, but knew she had to give.
"Ash doesn't love all his Pokémon equally Misty, he secretly loves his first much more than all the others." Misty was shocked by the girl's admission, but accepted it with a grateful smile. Back in her swimsuit she climbed atop her Pokémon and sailed off into the sunset. Both sides kept waving long after she disappeared from view no one willing to admit that the adventures together were actually over.
AN: I was on Tumblr and saw someone else's secret wish for this to happen. The thought wouldn't leave me alone so now this came about. I wanted to hate on Serena, really, I did. She should have more goals in life at this point, but I couldn't. This actually turned out a lot like a Doctor Who episode where Rose meets Sarah Jane Smith, but then they turned into best friends. I really didn't expect that. I haven't actually watched any Kalos episodes so I hope I wasn't too OOC. Hope you enjoyed it.
Oh, I put Serena as younger than Ash because I aged him normally based on the time hints given in the anime, but I figured sixteen was a stupid age to start on a journey. Junior year in America is when you finally figured out a little about where the crap you're going in life. So she is fourteen and I actually respect her more as a character after reading this. Just never ever ever as Ash's girlfriend. That is Misty's job.