Look, my first requested fic! I feel special :P This is for East Coast Captain, who I certainly hope enjoys it!

I'm still trying to finish up my longer fics (specifically The Secret of Entei) but life has gotten busy again, and whenever I have time to write, writer's block seems to strike. But don't worry, I'm hoping to have some new chapters up soon!

Little Cerulean Lie

"Okay Charmander, this is it. Our first gym battle."

"Char…"

"Don't sound so discouraged buddy! We can do this! I think…"

The young boy stood outside of the Cerulean City gym, hands clenched at his sides as he took in a nervous breath. He was a beginning trainer, who had just started his Pokémon journey a week ago. He had been greatly looking forward to his very first gym battle, but now that he had reached the building, he was beginning to have second thoughts.

"Char! Charmander!"

He looked down at the lizard Pokémon, whose big blue eyes were beginning to shine with determination. Smiling, the young boy gave a nod of his head.

"You're right. We can do this. Let's go!" Pumping his fist excitedly, the trainer strongly opened the doors, Charmander following diligently at his side.

Looking around, the boy blinked confusedly. He was surrounded by large tanks, filled with different water types who were swimming around in a carefree manner. The front desk was empty, although the phone sitting atop it was ringing rather loudly. The air was still and quiet, leaving the boy unsure of what to do next.

"Um, hello?" He called out shakily, "I'm here for a gym battle!"

No response.

"Uh…is anyone here?"

"Did you say you're here for a gym battle?" A new voice responded.

"Y…yes…"

The sound of little footsteps could be heard, quickly becoming louder and louder. When the source of the voice finally appeared in front of the amateur trainer, he couldn't help but to gasp.

"Um…who are you?" He raised an eyebrow, and Charmander quickly followed his trainer's actions.

The little girl standing before him giggled, her wispy red bangs falling into her bright emerald eyes, "silly boy. I'm the Cerulean City gym leader!"

Gaping, the boy responded, "You're like…four!"

"I am not!" She stomped her foot, "for your information, I'm five! And I'm obviously no runt! I'm a gym leader!"

"And your name is…?"

"Elizabeth," she scoffed, throwing her head to the side.

"Elizabeth huh?" He furrowed his brow now.

"That's my name!" She confirmed, eyes gleaming mischievously, "So, what's yours?"

"Uh…what's mine?"

"Your name. Duh."

"I…I'm Keanu."

"Keanu huh?" Elizabeth imitated the boy and folded her arms, sizing the trainer up. He was fairly tall for a ten year old, with shaggy brown hair that half covered his deep blue eyes. "You're kind of cute you know."

"Err, thanks," Keanu nervously rubbed the back of his head, "but you're half my age."

"Too bad," Elizabeth sighed, turning around and skipping off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Keanu called after her. The little girl stopped in her tracks and spun back to face the older boy, a playful smirk appearing on her young face.

"I'm going to the battle area! Aren't you coming? You want a badge, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"But what?" She whined, casting Keanu an impatient look.

"Are you seriously the gym leader?" He blinked, "that seems kind of hard to believe."

"Of course I am! I wouldn't lie to you." She held her hand behind her back, fingers crossed.

"Alright then," Keanu shrugged, following after the child, "so I guess you're a pretty good trainer."

"The best!" Elizabeth cheered as she continued marching towards the battle area, "I learned everything I know from my parents. That's why I'm so good!"

"Your parents?" Keanu inquired, looking down at Charmander. The fire type still looked very confused.

"Yep. They're very talented too."

"You sure are articulate for a five year old," Keanu observed, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Because I'm smart," she scowled, "that's just another reason why I'm a gym leader." She raised her head when they reached the doorway that led to the battle area, and stepped through boldly. Keanu blinked, but followed in the child's lead.

He turned his head left and right, carefully observing the room. It was massive, with a large pool set in the middle. Two platforms floated atop the calm water, perfectly parallel from one another. The walls were painted with vivid colors, and there were rows of bright blue bleachers lining the sides. Towering over the pool, he noticed, was a diving board, which caused him to become even more puzzled.

"What's the diving board for?" He pointed at it while giving Elizabeth an inquisitive look.

"Water shows," she smiled sweetly, "sometimes we have them here at the gym."

"Do you perform in them?"

"Sometimes," she shrugged.

"Wow, you do it all, huh?"

"Of course!" Elizabeth winked teasingly, "now, how many Pokémon do you have?"

"Uh…just two," Keanu replied sheepishly.

"I see you have a Charmander," Elizabeth looked down at the fire starter, "you do know this is a water type gym, right?"

"Yeah, I kind of figured that when I walked in," Keanu blushed slightly.

"So what other Pokémon do you have?"

Keanu reached to his belt and retrieved his other occupied poke ball, pressing the center button to free its inhabitant. In a flash of red, a Sandshrew appeared, shaking his little head sleepily.

"A ground type?" Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips, "they're weak against water types too. I can definitely take you!"

"It isn't all about type advantage, you know," Keanu nervously rubbed his arm. He was trying his best to sound confident, but on the inside, he couldn't help but to feel doomed.

"That's true," Elizabeth giggled sweetly, "but you will have to work harder if you want to beat me! So, are you ready to go?"

"Uh, sure…"

"You don't sound so sure," Elizabeth teased. Keanu growled lowly and held his arm out to the side.

"I'm positive!" He responded, more loudly this time, "and I'll win too!"

"We'll see about that," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, although her itchy grin was deceiving her. She scurried over to one of the platforms, and Keanu did the same as he raced over to the opposing podium. Reaching into her jeans' pocket, Elizabeth pulled out a poke ball and pressed the center button to enlarge the sphere to its full size.

"Charmander, you get out there first," Keanu addressed his fire type. Charmander grinned widely and leaped onto the rectangle that was floating in front of Keanu's platform.

"This will be a piece of cake!" Elizabeth chuckled as she threw the poke ball, "let's go Heartley!"

"Heartley?" Keanu blinked.

In the water appeared a Luvdisc, its lips pursing to form bubbles in the light blue liquid.

"A Luvdisc…" Keanu breathed, whipping out his poke dex to scan the fish like Pokémon.

Luvdisc, the rendezvous Pokémon. It is often believed that when a couple spots a school of Luvdisc, they will find eternal love. They often live in nests made from Corsola branches.

"Isn't she cute?" Elizabeth squealed, gazing adoringly at the heart shaped Pokémon.

"So, her name is Heartley?"

"Yep! I made it up all by myself! Doesn't it suit her?"

"Uh, yeah," Keanu smiled sweetly. Elizabeth may be super smart, and a gym leader, but she's still just a kid, he thought reassuringly.

"You can make the first move," Elizabeth called out happily, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Cool," Keanu smirked, "Charmander, use ember!"

"Char!" Charmander opened his mouth and sent little sparks of fire barreling towards the little water type.

"I don't think so!" Elizabeth giggled as she brushed a strand of hair back, "Heartley, use…"

"ELIZABETH DILYNNE KETCHUM!"

Heartley turned to look at her trainer, and in turn, Keanu and Charmander looked up as well. The little girl, meanwhile, was completely frozen.

"Uh oh," she whispered quietly to herself.

Confusedly, Keanu shifted his gaze past the child and towards the back opening of the battle area. Standing in the doorway was a woman, who despite being an adult, appeared to be rather young. She looked quite a bit like Elizabeth, only with brighter red hair and slightly lighter skin. She also looked seriously ticked off, with her eyes narrowed and her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"H…hi Mommy," Elizabeth greeted softly, giving her mother a little wave.

"Don't you 'hi' me young lady!" The woman scolded, causing her daughter to recoil slightly, "just what do you think you're doing?"

"Um…battling," Elizabeth blushed fiercely.

"And why would that be?"

"Because I…thought it'd be fun…"

"Elizabeth," Keanu broke in innocently, "are you not the gym leader?"

"Heh, well, I…" Elizabeth began, but was quickly cut off by her mother.

"No! I am!"

"Ugh, I should've known you weren't the gym leader," Keanu frowned at Elizabeth, "a five year old running a gym. It just makes no sense!"

"Well you were dumb enough to believe it!" Elizabeth shot back, her eyes burning.

"Elizabeth!" Her mother scolded again.

"Wait, so you're the gym leader?" Keanu pointed at the woman.

"Yes," she responded sweetly, her expression softening quickly, "the name's Misty."

"Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?" Keanu murmured quietly to himself.

"Miiiistyyy!"

A man who certainly seemed to be the same age as Misty was now standing in the doorway, his black hair disheveled and his polo shirt half undone. This caused Elizabeth to giggle, and Misty to look over her shoulder and grow wide eyed. Continuing to stare at the man, something suddenly clicked in Keanu's brain, causing him to gasp softly.

"Ash! I told you not to move for a reason!" Misty hissed between clenched teeth, "You look like some kind of wild Pokémon!"

"Hm?" Ash raised a curious eyebrow and rubbed at his cheek. Pulling his hand away, Ash gazed at his palm and groaned. "Oh man, I have your lipstick all over my face!"

"That's the least of your problems," Misty sighed as she shook her head.

"Char?" Charmander turned to his trainer and asked in a hushed tone.

"Y…yeah," Keanu blinked, "that's…the Pokémon master!"

Ash finally took notice of Elizabeth, and blinked at the sight of her standing on the podium. Elizabeth noticed her father's gaze, and slowly waved at him.

"Hi Daddy!" Elizabeth used her sweetest tone while addressing the highly confused man.

"Lizzie," Ash tilted his head, "what're you doing?"

"Ash! What does it look like she's doing?" Misty threw her hands up in the air. Ash furrowed his brow slightly and continued to stare at his little girl.

"Have you been battling again?" Ash asked simply.

"AGAIN?" Misty screeched.

"Alright, sometimes I have little battles with her for fun," Ash defended, folding his arms, "it's just between her and I, and I don't use my Pokémon's full power." Taking another look at his young daughter, Ash continued, "but this doesn't seem like it's just for fun."

"Of course this isn't just for fun," Misty seethed, "she's pretending to be the gym leader!"

"I'm sorry Daddy!" Elizabeth cried, terrified that her father would be infuriated. Instead, Ash just sighed and showed the girl a feeble smile.

"Elizabeth, your mother is the gym leader. You're just supposed to be a little girl! Now come down from there."

"Being a little girl is boring," Elizabeth grumbled as she stepped off the platform.

"You may think that now," Ash reasoned with a small nod, "but trust me, you don't want to be a grown up."

"Why not?" The little red head sulked as she shuffled over to the raven haired master. In response, Ash giggled softly and lifted the five year old into his arms, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Because grownups have way too many responsibilities. And their wives won't let them play video games," Ash glanced over at Misty, who in turn stuck her tongue out at him.

"Daddy," Elizabeth continued in a hushed tone, "you guys are forgetting about Keanu."

"Who?" Ash inquired curiously. Elizabeth twisted her body and pointed a little finger at the shocked looking brunette boy.

"Ah, so that's Keanu," Ash smiled gently, before speaking more loudly, "hi!" Keanu's eyes looked like they were going to shoot out of his head. The Pokémon master was talking to him.

"Um…he…hello sir," Keanu stammered, eyes still ten times oversized. Elizabeth burst out into another fit of giggles, causing Misty to sigh and gently smack her face with her palm, as if to say I give up.

"I'm guessing by that expression you know who I am?" Ash asked mischievously. The young trainer nodded feverously in response.

"Good, so your ego has just increased itself even further," Misty grumbled at her pleased husband, "why don't you get out of here so I can give this poor boy a proper gym battle?"

"Can't I stay here and watch?" Ash frowned slightly.

"No, you're too much of a distraction," Misty simply waved her hand at the discouraged master.

"Can I watch Mommy?" Elizabeth softly tilted her head. Misty sighed and gave the girl a weak smile.

"You don't think you've caused enough trouble today, dear?" Quickly, Elizabeth shook her head, and Misty let a little laugh escape from her delicate lips. "Alright, fine," Misty gave in.

"Yay!" Elizabeth clapped excitedly , and Ash lowered her onto the floor, "I'll watch very carefully, Mommy! That way, when I'm older, I can be a really good gym leader, just like you!"

At this, Misty blushed slightly and smiled, "thank you sweetie. That means a lot to me." Elizabeth ran forward and hugged her mother's legs.

"I know Mommy! That's why I said it," she pulled away and grinned up at the clearly brimming gym leader.

"Ash," Misty spoke softly, "stay with Lizzie. Make sure she watches the battle."

Ash chuckled and nodded, "you got it Mist."

Elizabeth cheered and hurried back over to her father, reaching up for his hand. Ash placed the young girl's palm in his and walked over to the bleachers, staring over his shoulder all the while at Misty, who had stepped onto the platform and was now informing Keanu of the battle rules.

That'll be Lizzie one day, Ash thought contentedly, but not yet. For now, she still has to be our baby.

"Daddy?" Elizabeth whispered, gazing up at her father. Ash blinked and looked down at the child.

"What's up pumpkin?"

"Do you think Mommy will be mad if I try to be the gym leader again tomorrow?"

Ash snorted as he responded, "I certainly wouldn't try it again Lizzie. Just wait until you're older and you're the real gym leader."

Elizabeth thought this over for a minute before making a mental decision.

She was definitely going to try again tomorrow.