Within Reach

Part One

by usebubblebeam

Date Begun: 30/08/17
Date Finished: 02/09/17

A/N: So I haven't posted anything online in a while so I'd thought I'd stretch my fingers and type out this little thing. Please be kind, as I said, it's been a while.

This is also only part one; the second will be up as soon as possible!

How did her day go from seemingly perfectly normal to… mind-numbing?

Misty couldn't help but stare at Lance from across the table, her mouth agape like a magikarp. Brock was seated beside her, just as silent as a steaming cup of coffee warmed his hands. He nudged her lightly with his elbow so that the woman sitting beside him would speak up. At the indication, the redhead cleared her throat.

"Sorry, uh… Could you repeat that?"

The champion grinned. It was like he was expecting this sort of reaction out of her. Was this a prank?

"No, it's not a prank."

Mew, had she said that out loud?

"With Koga and Agatha retired, Bruno and Lorelei have begun looking for successors. And naturally, Lorelei has been considering you." he explained.

Truthfully, from the moment Brock had answered her door for her and called out her name insistently had been the answer to when everything had become "mind-numbing".

"Misty," Lance began again. She simply couldn't speak, still completely shocked. It was almost like she had forgotten that she had a voice and was supposed to use it to respond. Usually, she was well-aware of this fact but…

She could only muster a surprised grunt in reply.

"This seems like a lot to take in for you… Maybe I should come back another time?"

"No!" she suddenly piped up, shaking herself. Brock lifted his cup to his lips, attempting to hide his amused smirk. How the hell wasn't he as shocked as she was? Or speaking on behalf of her? Some best friend he was. "No, it's fine. Great, even. I'm just… overwhelmed. I mean, I didn't see this coming."

The man across nodded. "Indeed, but with all the progress you've been making for the Cerulean Gym, why wouldn't it be in your future? You and your friends showed immense strength in more ways than one and even back when I first met you, I saw the potential."

Brock looked over at his former travelling companion. He could understand the hesitance, but hadn't this always been her dream? "Mist?" he asked. "Why aren't you more excited? This is an amazing opportunity, and you've been saying for years that you want to be a Water Pokemon Master. This is amazing!"

"I am! It's just a lot to process. I mean, me? Really?"

She looked a little skeptical, but there was still hope in her eyes. Her childhood dream possibly coming true? How often did something like that happen?

"Lorelei's insisting that you go for it. Obviously, you can't just be offered the position, but we all want you to be a candidate." Lance said, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin on top of his folded hands. "That means battling for it and proving to us that you're as strong as your reputation says you are."

Expecting his words to push the position away, it was like the doubt was melting away. She slowly began to grin and Misty's famous confidence was once again before the bi-regional champion and the pokemon doctor.

"I'll take that as a challenge. And a Gym Leader has to expect every challenge, right?"

"There she is!" Brock cheered, standing up and moving to hug her. "Congratulations, Misty!"

"Don't congratulate me yet, Brock! I have to beat the Elite Four, first!"

Lance closed his eyes in thought as the two friends had their moment before standing up from his chair. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, Misty. I look forward to your battle! I must take my leave now, but it was nice to see you both."

"I'll see you out." Brock said with a respectful nod, moving to lead the older man out of the Gym Leader's apartment.

As the two left, Misty was once again taking the time to process what had just happened. Her whole life could change forever because of the very conversation that had just happened. But was she ready? Were her pokemon ready? Was she skilled enough? Was she strong enough?

She couldn't help but allow these questions to run through her head. It wasn't every day you were considered for such a prestigious position by Lorelei and the champion themselves. No doubt, it was a lot to take in. After everything that she had fought for, the reputation that she had to re-work and pretty much build from the ground up for her family's gym, the respect of her fellow trainers… It was almost like all of it was going to be on the line if she took it.

But she was a Gym Leader. It was her duty to take on a challenger to not only help them benefit from the battle, to teach them and help them gain strength, but it was also something that they did to help better themselves.

The redhead could hear the quite murmurs of farewell from Brock and Lance prior to the door clicking closed.

"This is amazing!" the doctor said as he entered the dining area once more. Misty's apartment was rather spacious so it took him a couple of seconds to make his way back.

"It's huge."

"It's huge." he echoed. He paused. "You're going to go for it, aren't you?"

"It's been my dream since I was a kid… To be acknowledged for my own strength; to show my sisters that I'm just as good as them. To be a Water Pokemon Master. It's just so weird thinking that it could be within reach, y'know?" Misty began, blinking as a smile graced her lips. She was looking down at the ingrains on the table as she concentrated on how to form what she was feeling coherently. "After everything, it seemed impossible. I used to spout that as a kid because I was a dreamer, and I knew I wanted to be better than my sisters. I feel like I'm floating. I can't really explain it."

Brock stayed quiet as his friend spoke. He could understand where she was coming from. The both of them had so much in common that it was rather sad when they had deep conversations like this. Even Ash, who was constantly on the go and pursuing his dream, would be able to relate.

But Misty had been the only one forced to put her dream on hold while her two best friends continued to chase their goals.

"You're not getting left behind anymore."

The words seemed to just slip out, and it seemed to be the right thing to say. The redhead jerked back slightly and soon her oceanic eyes were back on her friend.

It was true, what he said.

She wasn't going to be alone here while everyone around her pursued their dreams.

She couldn't help but grow a little emotional, her smile wider as her eyes glassed over slightly. "I can do it?" she asked. How often was it that Misty seeked reassurance? She had always been the most boisterous of the three, the most outwardly confident.

Brock immediately lifted his hand, giving the biggest grin he could muster and gave her the thumbs-up signal. "Of course!"

She couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You look like Ash when you do that." she teased. Of course she was grateful for the encouragement, but she needed things to settle back into routine before she got too over-the-top.

"What? Doesn't it suit me?"

The next few weeks were incredibly intense.

Brock hardly ever saw his best friend. Whenever he had the chance to take some time off again from studying in Johto to come back home, she was either training or not even home. Even Tracey, who dropped by the gym a lot more than any of their friends, saw her barely. She was battling the trainers who came through, completely wiping the floor with some of them with only a few close calls. That Cascade Badge was growing increasingly harder to gain the stronger Misty became.

She even opted to bring meditating into her training regimen, something that had been of the advice of both Sabrina and Bruno, so that she could probably set her mind on her pokemon and the upcoming battle only.

The doctor sat on the bleachers as his friend battled against a trainer who had faired from Sinnoh, Staryu easily gaining momentum and propelling itself from the water, into the air towards a staravia. While the bird was naturally quick, it was clearly exhausted, only moving out of the way slightly. This allowed Misty's staryu to aim one of its spike at the flying type's underbelly.

Staravia was pushed back, wincing in pain. Its trainer gasped out its name, but Misty barely let the two of them react.

"Staryu, Water Gun!" she called out. Her teammate immediately responded to the command from its trainer, sinking into the pool and gathering water before shooting it out like a sharp jetstream, Hitting almost exactly the same place where it had tackled staravia just previously. "Yes! That's it, Staryu!" The pre-evolution had always been the one with better aim, though her starter was stronger in terms of special attack. Staryu was clumsy, but definitely a reliable pokemon in its own right.

Its opponent fell back towards the water, the young trainer across the pool immediately pulling out his pokeball. "Staravia, return!"

A red beam left the capsule after he yelled desperately and covered the bird in order to bring it inside it. The referee lifted up a green flag with a water droplet design on it in Misty's favour.

"Staravia is unable to battle! Staryu is the winner! Gym Leader Misty is the victor!"

Misty remained on the platform she was standing on as the referee announced the results of the battle, waiting until staravia was back inside its pokeball to address her challenger. "You staravia is strong! It fought well. But it looks like you need a little more training to earn the Cascade Badge."

The boy sighed and bowed his head.

"Hey, there's nothing to be upset about! You clearly have skill to get as far as you did. You knocked out two of my pokemon!"

Brock then took the time to stand up from the bleachers and heading over towards where Misty and the challenger were chatting. It had honestly been quite an impressive battle, and not just from Misty's side. The trainer definitely had some potential. He was tactful, and had thought he had planned ahead with the battle, but not well enough, it seemed. "Yeah, you did really well against Misty. You forget that Cerulean City has one of the best gyms in the region."

The trainer nodded slowly in reply. "I guess. I just didn't expect you to be this strong. After competing in the Sinnoh League, I wanted to take on a new league. Never thought it would be this tough."

"Well, we're a tough bunch of trainers."

"I can see that." the challenger laughed lightly despite clearly being disappointed. Soon enough, he was heading towards where he had placed his bag. After swinging it onto his back, he raised a hand in farewell. "Thanks for today. I'll be back soon enough for the badge!"

After he left, Misty and Brock had gone downstairs to where the feeding area of the gym was, both of them standing on step ladders so that they could reach the top of the tanks. Each was holding a tub of pokemon food that all of the gym's pokemon had taken to, throwing the pieces to the ones that couldn't stay on land while the ones who could were each munching at a bowl of it each.

Misty seemed content with today's match, which prompted Brock's question.

"So, do you feel ready to schedule a day for the battle?" he asked cheerfully, laughing as Dewgong swam past quickly, clearly wanting more. "Okay, okay! You're not missing out! Here you go."

The redhead hummed in response as she stopped to watch her pokemon eat. "I don't know. I feel like we're close but I'm not fully confident yet, y'know? I mean, this is gonna be the biggest battle of my life so I have to be ready. And I don't think I am."

"Well, how much longer do you think it'll take? You can't put it off for too long. Otherwise someone else will be getting that promotion."

The two of them turned to glance at each other at the male's words. She couldn't help but bite her lip; he was right. From what she had heard, Ritchie was already on his way to battle Bruno for his spot on the Elite Four roster.

"I feel like I should go to the Seafoam Islands to train more, though..."

"Mist," the doctor said, her nickname being used in that "older brother" tone, as his friends called. Also, the employment of the nickname was enough to know that he was a little concerned. It wasn't often used, and the use of it was limited to two people only; Brock and Ash. "You've been training every day for weeks. Even before you knew about the League considering you for it, you've been working your butt off to prove you're one of the best trainers in Kanto. How long have you been running the gym now? A little less than eight years, counting the breaks? You're 21; go for it!"

"I appreciate the pep talk, but-"

"No buts! Go make the call, or I will."

The Gym Leader blinked. Had he just snapped at her? She knew she could get frustrating but Brock wasn't normally one to cut someone off. He was really serious about this.

Silence drifted over the two of them for a few seconds before she could find her voice again.

"Okay... There's no need to give me attitude."

That phone call had been excuriating to make, but she found that Ash finding out had been worse.

"Of course we're friends!" she said hurriedly. "C'mon, Ash, don't give me that look.

That phone call had been excurutiating to make, but Ash finding out, Ash being there, was definitely much worse.

About to step up to the reception desk where Nurse Joy was standing to check for a hotel, something she had book ahead in preparation for the big day, the redhead was greeted by the aspiring pokemon master and Pikachu. She stopped cold at the sight of him, her eyes wide in both disbelief and shock. "Ash!"

"Misty!" he called back.

He was wearing an expression that she could only describe as a combination of irritation and pride, while Pikachu took them calling each other's names as a cue to bound up to Misty and Brock. The two of them were standing next to each other, the man grinning widely at the sight of Ash there.

"Pikachupi! Pika-chu!" the electric rodent called out excitedly, leaping into Misty's arms. He immediately began to nuzzle her face against his own, somewhat surprisingly Misty out of her daze. What the hell were the two of them doing there? She hadn't told them anything.

Pikachu soon stopped, looking up at the woman. She immediately snapped her head at Brock, who tentatively took a couple of steps back.

"Traitor!" she accused, pointing a finger at him.

She hadn't been planning on telling Ash about the news because of the fact that it wasn't for sure. While he was in complete support of her endeavours, he was still busy with his own and she didn't want this to be a distraction or an excuse to see him. The last she had heard from him was that he was attending some sort of school while in Alola that was required for trainers, if if they were experienced, and to drag him away from that while he was both travelling around the region and studying?

"Don't blame Brock!" he said. While there was a hint of a smile lining his lips, it was overshadowed by the annoyance. "I thought we were friends, Misty!"

"Of course we're friends!" she hurriedly said to defend herself, her hand raising to scratch Pikachu behind the ear. "Oh, c'mon, Ash, don't give me that look."

He huffed in response, folding his arms.

"Alright, you two, it's not the time to argue. You can hold off until we check in." Brock said hurriedly in an attempt to intervene before the two caused a scene. The yelling of each other's names had already drawn attention because the sounds had echoed across the room. Grabbing Misty's arm, he dragged her towards Ash before doing the same to him and leading the two back en route to the reception desk. He was on a mission to see Nurse Joy before the he needed to go hide in humiliation because of the people he chose to associate himself with and the way they behaved in public.

They both grumbled as they stood to line up, Misty trying to ignore Ash as he poked her in the back continuously.

"At least let me congratulate you." Ash said, finally stopping.

He hadn't seen either of his friends in a few months, mostly relying on e-mails (when he did reply) and the occasional phone call. He was lucky that he had caught the one where Brock had called him a couple of weeks ago to inform him of the massive news. The fact that she hadn't told him herself was quite upsetting. But he was also immensely proud of her; she was about to become a member of the Elite Four, officially to be recognised as a Water Pokemon Master!

She pursed her lips, Pikachu leaping from her shoulder to the man standing in front of the two so that they could have their privacy. Or what they could in such a public setting.

Misty turned, finally facing Ash properly. She was wearing a smile now, as though none of this was a big deal. "It's good to see you, Ash."

"You too, Misty."

Without warning, he grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a hug, Misty flushing immediately at the gesture. "I'm so proud of you!" he started, rocking her slow back and forth. He seemed to be more excited about this than she did, but he didn't care. He knew that deep down she was really happy, but it was covered by layers of doubt and insecurity. "You're gonna be a Water Pokemon Master!"

"That's still to see, Ash." Misty laughed, her hands following suit and gently placing them around him in reply.

"You've been saying that you've wanted this since I met you, so of course it's gonna happen!" He pulled away, holding her at arms length to properly look at her. He pretty much towered over her now. "Speaking of things happening, I'm taller than you now." He was smirking, his tone smug.

"The fact that you just noticed is a little unsettling, Mr. Pokemon Master." His smirk dropped at this. "You've been taller than me since you stopped by after Sinnoh. And we've seen each other a few times since then."

"On the phone doesn't count!"

"It so does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does!"

"Doesn't!"

"Does!"

"Doesn't!"

"Does!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

Now they had caused a scene that Brock had been hoping to avoid. He had turned around, hands on his hips as he glared at his two younger friends. "Mew, you guys, if you're gonna flirt, wait until you're alone." he teased, expecting the result he was given. Both of their faces flushed a fantastic shade of red in embarrassment, leaving a satisfied Brock in their wake as the duo yelled after him when he went to move ahead in line.

"We weren't flirting!"

Pikachu couldn't help but giggle along with what was happening behind him. The two of them had been teased like this since they were kids, so you'd think that they would be unaffected by now but apparently not. The two were completely silent following their outburst, their faces still holding a prominent blush as they attempted to glance at each other as though to suss out the other's reaction. If caught, they would immediately pretend they weren't doing anything suspicious.

Not long after this had played out, the line had moved forward enough so that the group was next in line. After hearing a, "Next!" being called out by Nurse Joy after she had finished serving the previous customers, all composure that Brock had been behaving with seemingly slipped away in an instant.

"Nurse Joy!" he called loudly, his eyes completely focused on the pink-haired woman who had jumped back, startled. The doctor's eyes were now heart-shaped, and he was right in front of her so quick that a neither of his friends had time to react. "It's been a long time since I saw you last! You're as beautiful as I remember!"

Ash faked gagging at the passionate speech his best friend was beginning to admit, and Misty, who was already on the case, had seemingly recovered from early as her temper began to grow upon the embarrassing sight in front of them.

"Your eyes sparkle like the sunlight on the ocean and your hair is like cotton candy-"

"Your face will be the colour of cotton candy if you don't pipe down."

"-Ow, Misty, not the ear! Not the ear!"

She was holding his ear tightly between two fingers as he struggled to get away, but her vice-like grip was not refraining at all. "Now who's the embarrassing one?" she asked, beginning to pull him away from the crowd though not before shoving her ID card into Ash's hand. Pikachu, by this point, had already jumped down from Brock's shoulder, watching the two people head away from the shocked people that had been left in their wake.

Ash sighed, exasperated, stepping up to the still-shocked Nurse Joy. "Sorry about that. He gets a little..." he trailed off awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Anyway, uh, a reservation under 'Misty'?"

At the prompt, Nurse Joy shook her head to regain her concentration. "For Misty, did you say?" she asked, not even waiting for Ash to confirm as she began to click away at her computer. "Do you have your ID with you?"

"Misty's given me her's." he said, holding up the card. "She was the girl who dragged... Never mind."

"Oh, the Gym Leader! Yes!" Nurse Joy grinned, taking the card without question and popping it into a slot on the hard drive. Misty's face soon popped on the screen, along with some other information that Ash didn't bother reading. Pulling out a map, she stood up to show her customer where he should be looking. "This is where your room is. It's in the private quarters upstairs." she explained before taking a seat once more, pulling out Misty's card and handing it back to him. "Let me just get the key cards for you..."

It took a moment for Nurse Joy to give them to him, confirming on the computer once more. "And here you are!"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!"

Bolting off, he was quickly beside his friends once more. Brock was wincing as he tried to rub his ear, trying to soothe it, complaining about how rough Misty had been.

"Again, it's been years, you should've noticed by now that I would do it if you try anything like that." was her quick retort. Looking towards Ash, she held out her hand and he hurriedly handed her her ID card and her key card. He also offered Brock his. "Should we go?"

The two males nodded.

"Yeah, and when we get there, can we order some ice because I think Misty has bruised my ear!"

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review.

Hope you have a great day!

Word Count: 4,088