Misty pulled her jacket closer to her, trying to keep the biting wind and the cold rain away from her body. Her ponytail had fallen out about half a mile ago, long after the storm hit, but what felt like hours before she'd seen a building that offered shelter. Her denim shorts and yellow cotton tank top were drenched, from trying to keep her hair dry with her jacket at first. Her shoes squelched with every step she took, and her socks were soaked as well – she was cold, wet, somewhat miserable, and desperate for somewhere to stay. The storm wasn't going to clear up until late the next morning, but the stretch of road she was on was completely void of people, buildings, trees, and anything that offered some sort of shelter.
Misty vaguely remembered the road she was on – she had been travelling with Ash and Brock last time she was here, they were still in Kanto then, and a storm had blown up. They ran through it until they came to a house. That was what she was banking on right now – that the house was still there, and that she wasn't fooling herself about this hazy memory in the back of her mind.
Maybe I'm putting memories together – there probably isn't a house for miles. I wish Brock and Ash were here. Ash would have found somewhere, like a cave full of bugs, and Charmander would start a little fire, then Brock would cook some soup, and we'd study the map for a little while, and we'd fall asleep, and the sun would be out the next morning, and I wouldn't catch my death of cold, and –
A rumble of thunder cut her thoughts short. The storm was building strength, and the wind kept picking up – she could see the rain sheeting all around her. She put her wishful thinking aside and picked up her speed again. She'd been running almost nonstop for two hours now, but she might as well have been running in circles for all she knew – it felt like she was getting nowhere.
Then a flash of lightning split the sky, and for a moment, she could make out a house in the distance. It was large, a two-story, but with no windows that Misty coud see. Maybe I am remembering this right, she thought, as she put on one last burst of speed. Each lightning flash showed that she was getting closer. She could make out a door at the front, then a path leading to the door. Finally, she was almost at the path, and she looked up at her destination as the lightning silouhetted it against the storm clouds one more time, she was so close, and then she'd be –
"AAAAOOOOWWWWW!" she screamed. She hadn't seen the postbox at the entrance to the path up to the door. She had slammed right into it, at full speed, and caught her in front, on the left hip, right below the stomach, at her waist line. She slammed hard into the mud, sending muddy water and sludge flying all over her. She started crying, from being cold, wet, and now muddy, and she attempted to pull herself up to her knees. Her left hip ached, and she was still seeing stars from slamming into the ground, but she managed to get herself standing upright, mostly thanks to the post box she tripped over.
As she limped up to the house, tears still trickling down her face with the raindrops, she tried to remember who lived there. There were no windows on the front of the house, either. Not even a covered front porch – just a door in a wall. Misty kept racking her brain all the way up to the door, trying to remember why the house looked so familiar. I know I've been here before, but who lives here?
After knocking a few times with no response, she finally tried the door. It was unlocked and swung in without a sound. Well, I'd much rather apologize later than stand here waiting to ask permission first, she thought, and she stepped in, mud, water, and all.
"Is anybody home?" she called out after shutting the door. The light in the entrance was dim, and she couldn't see anything beyond a few feet fronm where she was standing. The storm outside was a dull roar with the door shut, but she still couldn't hear any response. "I'm all muddy and wet, and I need a place to stay; I hope you don't mind!" she yelled. Still nothing. "I'm making a mess all over your entrance way! I apologize ahead of time!" No answer. Just then the power went out.
Misty froze. "It was creepy enough to find an empty, unlocked house in the middle of nowhere! The power really didn't need to go out!" she hissed to no one in particular. She was trying to think of which pokemon she could pull out to light up the room, but none of the ones she had could stay on land and produce light. Poliwhirl couldn't glow in the dark, and Chinchou couldn't stay out of water for more than a few minutes. Some of those fire types would come in handy right now, wouldn't they, world's-greatest-water-pokemon-trainer? she thought sarcastically. She had never really regretted sticking to one type of pokemon until now, but she had to admit that a something that offered heat and light was far more preferable to something that offered wet and more wet. After a minute of kicking herself, she took a more hands-on approach. "Lights on, please!" she yelled at the darkness.
"Nice one. Shout a little louder – it might work then!" came a peppy, familiar voice from behind her.