It was a normal day at the newsroom in the L.A. Times building in Los Angeles. And if by 'normal', then you mean, 'frantic'. One could barely hear themselves over the din of reporters and staff members receiving the news of the day that will be featured in tomorrow's LA Times. These crack reporters, who work for L.A.'s top broadsheet, scrambled for any information about their respective stories and wrote down whatever it was they were reporting on.

A reporter for the city beat was talking with his co-worker when a camera flash caught his attention. He turned to the source of the flash and gestured to the person to go away. The camera turned to another reporter, a black-haired, brown-eyed, 24-year-old Hispanic woman. "Smile!" said the voice behind the camera. The woman reacted by giving a beaming smile to whomever was taking the picture.

The person taking the picture was a red-haired young man, who appeared to be around the age of 19 or 20. His red hair was mostly in curls, and he had a few freckles on his face. One of his strangely defining features was the bowtie he was wearing. You don't see that often, these days. He was probably close to 5'10". "How many 'T's' in 'bloodletting?" The reporter asked.

"Two," replied the young photographer. His press badge said, 'Jimmy Olsen'. He was one of the LA Times' newest photographers, despite only being a student at UCLA most of the year. "What are you working on, Ms. Gutierrez?" He asked the reporter.

She wore her hair down, and in a wavy style. As stated previously, she was 24, and looked it.

"An ode to spring," she replied.

"Golly Ms. Gutierrez, how do you get such great stories?" He asked her.

"A good reporter doesn't get great stories Jimmy," she said as she typed away. "A good reporter makes them great, just like the chief says."

"Oh," said Jimmy. "So what's it about?" He asked.

"Oh, it's about the rise in gang violence in South Central and the vigilantes," she said. Sonia Gutierrez was a rising star among reporters in the L.A. Times. "I just love these types of stories," she said. "It lets people know what's going on in their city. And it exposes these vigilantes for what they really are."

"Golly," he said. He liked to use an outdated term for some reason. Just then, a staff member walked up to Gutierrez's cubicle.

"Chief wants to see you," he said to her. "And you, Olsen."

"Oh, sure," said Sonia. She got up from her seat and, along with Jimmy, walked over to their editor-in-chief's office. The lettering on the door said, 'PERRY WHITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'.

Inside the office was LA Times editor-in-chief, the aforementioned Perry White. He was a man in his '50s, and he wore a vest over his shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. He had thinning brown hair, with some graying and he had blue eyes. "Olsen! Gutierrez! Get in here!" He said in his gruff voice as he gestured them in. Sonia and Jimmy did as they were told and entered his office. "I want you two to do something for me," he said.

"What is it, chief?" She asked. Her question got him annoyed.

"I said don't call me chief!" he shouted back. "I want you two to do a feature story on that new gym leader in the South Park area."

"What do you mean, 'new gym leader'?" Sonia asked, as if this assignment was below her. Mr. White did not look pleased about her attitude.

"Now listen Gutierrez," he said. "You're the new kid here. And that means, you gotta take the small stories every once in a while. I remember when I was getting started-,"

"Chief, I don't think that has to do with—" Jimmy tried to cut White off, but he too was cut off.

"Don't call me 'chief', Olsen!" He shouted back. "Now look, Gutierrez, sometimes you gotta take what you can get. And this new gym leader—what's her name?"

"I think her name is 'Misty'," replied Sonia.

"Oh yeah, Misty," White said. "She's got that new Pokémon gym out in South Park, and the readers have been asking for a story on her for some time. I want you and Olsen to do an interview with her."

"But why should I waste my talents on fluff pieces when I could—" Sonia was a gain cut off buy an angry White.

"I said, you have to take the embarrassing assignments sometimes before you can really get your hands dirty," he replied. Sonia and Jimmy looked at each other, as his statement made no sense at all. "Besides, she's supposedly a witness to that Superman stuff 8 years ago," he said.

"Well now that sounds interesting," said Jimmy.

"I suppose so," said Maria.

"Now get the hell out of here or I'll have you bumped down to the kids' section!" He shouted. Sonia and Jimmy got the message and scrambled out of his office.

"Right, chief!" Jimmy said as he left.

"And don't call me chief!" He shouted back.

"This is bullshit!" She said candidly when she and Jimmy where in the elevator.

"Oh come on, Ms. Gutierrez," Jimmy said. "You know what Mr. White said!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, but it's still embarrassing!" She said. "I've got skills that are much better suited for exposing those vigilantes than covering a gym leader!" The elevator doors opened and Sonia quickly stepped out of the elevator while Jimmy tried to follow her through the lobby, which included a large globe.

"Well, who knows?" Jimmy said as he caught up to Sonia. "Maybe this Misty girl isn't so bad?"

"Yeah, sure," said Sonia. She was walking fast, as she wanted to get this assignment over and done with so she could get back to expository piece. "This is still embarrassing."

"Come on, Ms. Gutierrez," he said. "You've said that several times now—OOF!" He was backing up and didn't notice the wall behind him until it was too late. Sonia, meanwhile, was already out the door, forcing Jimmy to try and catch up to her again. "Why don't you give it a rest?"

"Because," she said as she turned around. "I joined this newspaper to help get these vigilantes which are terrorizing neighborhoods alongside those gangs they claim to fight, and I'm stuck doing a fluff piece about a gym leader!"

"But Chief did say she was a witness to that Superman stuff," he replied. "And since the anniversary of his victory over Team Rocket is coming up, maybe we can ask her about it?"

"Maybe you're right," she replied. "Well then, I guess this won't be too bad. But I'm still not going to be happy about it." She turned around and walked away.

"I never asked you to be happy about it," said Jimmy.

:-:-:-:-:-:

A few minutes later, Sonia and Jimmy arrived in the South Park area. The gym that Mr. White was talking about was close to the Staples Center, which worked well for the both of them. It made it easier for them to find, in other words. Of course, it did take them longer than they had hoped due to the notoriously bad LA traffic. What should have taken 5 minutes, as the LA Times building is less than 2 miles from the Staples Center, took 10. Not too bad, but Sonia was in a big hurry to get this assignment over with, even cursing Mr. White for giving her this assignment.

The gym wasn't too far, only a couple blocks from the L.A. Live development. In fact, it had a structure that matched the L.A. Live, what with its futuristic looking glass-and-steel structure. And one could not tell it was indeed a Pokémon gym. But that's where the similarities ended.

"Golly!" Jimmy said as he took a few pictures of the structure. Sonia wasn't too happy with his choice of words.

"Can you not say that?" She asked.

"Say what?" Jimmy asked, oblivious as to what she was talking about.

"Stop saying 'golly'!" She replied in an annoyed tone.

"You don't have to get mad at me," he said to her. She sighed, and then her features softened.

"I'm sorry Jimmy," she said. "I'm just a little annoyed at Mr. White for assigning me this story."

"It's okay," said Jimmy. "Now let's go in, I want to see this gym leader." Jimmy went in first, followed by Sonia. Once inside, they got a good look at the lobby, which was empty, much to their disappointment. However, they could hear the sounds of a Pokémon battle going on, which must mean that the gym leader was here. In fact, a sign on the front desk said that there was a battle going on, and it was redirecting any visitors to the spectator area.

The spectator area itself was like the stands of a high school/college/Olympic pool, with four sides surrounding an Olympic-sized swimming pool in the middle. There were about 10 rows of seats for each side. In the pool were the two combatants, each trainer standing on a platform while the Pokémon fought on their own platforms right in front of the trainers. They were up high enough though, that they couldn't get a good view of the trainers. But one looked to be in their 20s, while the other looked to be close to 12. The older trainer was using what looked to be a Starmie and the younger trainer had a Sandshrew out.

They watched as the Starmie unleashed a Water Gun attack at the Sandshrew. The Sandshrew-which was most likely inexperienced-was knocked out with a single blow, much to its trainer's dismay, as it called out the Pokémon's name and recalled said Pokémon. Since they couldn't really hear what the two were saying, they decided to get closer to the action.

Upon closer inspection, they could see that the older trainer was a woman close to 23 years old with long, orange hair that went down her back and a yellow-colored get-up.

"One more Billy!" She said.

"I'll get you this time!" He shouted. "Go, Char—"

"If you're going to call out any of the Charmander evolutions, I suggest you don't," said the older trainer. "If it falls in the water, it could douse the flame on its tail, and you know what happens then."

"Oh, you're right," said the trainer named 'Billy'. "Then I choose Raticate!" The trainer threw the Poké Ball, releasing said rat-like Pokémon.

"Then I'll go with Golduck!" The older trainer cried. She unleashed a Golduck, which gave thumbs-up sign when it was released.

"Raticate, use bite!" the young trainer called out. The Raticate leapt into the air, bringing itself down on the Golduck. The Golduck was too fast though, and easily dodged the attack.

"Golduck, Focus Punch!" The woman trainer called. The Golduck closed its eyes for a moment and began to focus its energy. Sonia and Jimmy watched with interest—Jimmy was actually taking pictures by now—while the Golduck charged itself. Then, the Golduck opened its eyes and gave the Raticate a very powerful punch. Now since this is a fighting move, and Raticate is a Normal-type, this didn't last long at all. The Raticate was knocked out before it landed on the platform in front of Billy. The poor kid grasped his head in despair.

"Raticate!" He called as he recalled the Pokémon.

"Good fight Billy," the older trainer said as she recalled the Golduck and leapt back onto the pool deck. "But I'm too experienced for you. Maybe you should handle the Fairfax gym instead. That one's good for beginners."

"I guess so," said Billy.

"Now run along and keep training those Pokémon Billy," she said as she patted him on the head.

"Thanks Ms. Waterflower," Billy said dejectedly as he left the gym.

"Good luck Billy!" She called as he left. She didn't want to let the kid go without some words of encouragement first.

"I think that's her," said Jimmy.

"Must be," said Sonia. "Now how do we get out of—Oh, that should work." She noticed a stairwell that led to the pool deck. Might was well work. The two went down the stairwell, and once they were on the pool deck, Sonia called out to the trainer. "Um, hello?" The trainer turned around to see Sonia and Jimmy coming towards her.

She was a slender young woman. Her orange hair went down her back and to her waist and appeared to be parted on the left side. Her yellow, strapless outfit was her defining trait. And she didn't know why Sonia was there. "Um, who are you?"

"You are Misty Waterflower, the South Park gym leader, right?" Sonia asked.

"Yeah, I am," Misty replied. "But who are you and why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" Sonia said, embarrassed by the situation. "I'm Sonia Gutierrez, of the Los Angeles Times, and this is Jimmy Olsen. We're here for an interview."

"I don't remember making any interview arrangements," said Misty.

"Really?" Sonia said. "Our editor implied we had a time to do so."

"Oh, sorry," said Misty. "Tell you what, since I have the rest of the day off, I'll grant you an interview."

"You will?" Sonia said. "Oh, that's great!"

"I just need to get changed… do you have any interview questions, though?" Misty said.

"Oh, darn!" Sonia said, smacking herself. "I forgot to make some!"

"Well, I'll take a shower and give you some time to make some, okay?" Misty replied. But Jimmy had something to say.

"Actually, can I get some pictures of you?" He asked. "It's for the story."

"Sounds good!" Misty said. She posed for several pictures for Jimmy, refusing to do any racy pics—which Jimmy was fine with, since this was going to be in the newspaper. Meanwhile, Sonia did her best to come up with some interview questions

About half an hour later, Misty stepped out of her shower and into her bedroom, wearing her bathrobe. I'm trying to keep this clean, okay? Anyway, as she stepped out of the shower, she spotted her Marill, which was sitting on her bed. She gave it a rub on its head and smiled at it. "I've got an interview today," she said to the water mouse. The Marill cooed in response. "I wonder what they're going to ask me about," she asked out loud. "Maybe they're going to ask me about my style, my Pokémon, my…" she continued on, while her Marill looked on in confusion. Suddenly, the Marill's tail tipped over a photo frame on her nightstand, sending it crashing to the floor and getting Misty's attention. "Marill, you've got to be more careful," she said as she went over to pick it up.

When she flipped it over, she got a good look at the photo and stopped in her tracks. In the picture were her, May, Dawn, Brock, Drew, Kenny and… "Ash." The young, cocky trainer from Pallet Town was front-and-center in the picture. "This was taken before he left," she said to herself. She stayed there, looking at the picture, remembering her times with Ash and friends. A look that was a mixture of sadness and remembrance was on her face as she looked at the picture. But her little daydream was interrupted.

"Marill!" Misty jumped a little, before remembering that she had dozed off somewhat.

"Sorry Marill," she said. "I kind of dozed off. Oh! I need to find an outfit for that interview!"

:-:-:-:-:-:

"Sorry I kept you waiting!" She said as she came back into the lobby from the second floor. Sonia and Jimmy were waiting in the lobby, and it seemed as if they were getting impatient. Well, at least Sonia was.

"No, it's okay," she said to Misty. Then she got a look at Misty's outfit. "Hey, you look nice!"

"Oh really?" She said. "Thanks!" She was wearing her trainer clothes again, which is why Sonia was commenting on them. She didn't really comment on them earlier.

"But I thought you said you had to get changed?" She asked.

"I did," Misty replied. "I'm just wearing a different one."

"Oh, I see," said Sonia. "Shall we get on with this interview?"

"Sure!" Misty said. She directed the two into her kitchen, where she said she'd be more comfortable with the interview. They were greeted in the kitchen by a Beagle that seemed to be fascinated with Jimmy's legs and started snipping at them-much to Jimmy's despair.

"Um, I don't think he likes me, Ms. Waterflower," he said.

"Oh, don't mind Butch," she said. "He's just playing; he's actually a real sweetie pie." She walked over to Butch and started rubbing the dog's head—much to the dog's delight. "Isn't that right, Butch?" The dog barked in response. "Good boy!"

"Oh, that was neat!" Sonia said. "Did you train him to do that?"

"No," said Misty. "He just likes praise."

"Oh, I see," said Sonia. She sat at the kitchen table while Misty went over to the refrigerator.

"Do you and Jimmy want something?" She asked, trying to be a good hostess. "A snack, or a drink?"

"Oh, no thanks," said Sonia. "We really should get this interview started."

"I see," said Misty. "You really don't want to be here, do you?"

"No," said Sonia. Misty gave her a look that essentially said that she did not appreciate Sonia's feelings about this interview. Misty sighed in exasperation, and Sonia got nervous, afraid she had offended her host. Technically, she did. "I hope I didn't offend you," she said nervously.

"It's more of an annoyed offended," said Misty. "I'm guessing you think this is a fluff piece and you'd rather be doing some hard-hitting assignment?"

"Wow, you're right," said Sonia. "How did you know?"

"I used to work for a newspaper myself," said Misty. "But I left that a few years ago."

"So I guess we should get this interview started," said Sonia, not wanting to get into Misty's life story… yet.

"Sure," said Misty as she beckoned Sonia to sit down at the table. Jimmy meanwhile, had his hands full with Butch.

"So then," said Sonia as she took you a tape recorder and set it on the table. "First off, give us your name."

"Misty Waterflower," Misty replied.

"And where are you from?" Sonia asked again.

"Cerulean City, California," Misty replied.

"And how old are you?" Sonia asked again.

"I'm twenty-three," she replied.

"Well then," Sonia said. "Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty. When did you first become a Gym leader?"

"I think it was when I was 16," she said. "I had left my friends when my sisters left on a world trip." The last part of her sentence she said in a more disdained tone of voice. She never really forgave her sisters for abandoning the gym. "And well, here I am."

"I see," said Sonia. "And when did you move to LA?"

"I moved here when I was 21," she replied. "The LA Pokemon commission offered me a position as a gym leader here in South Park. Since it was in such a great area, I eagerly took it."

"Do you have any regrets?" Sonia asked.'

"Heck no!" Misty replied. "I'm living in Los Angeles! Hell, I'm the toughest gym leader in the whole city! You should see the gym leaders in West Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills! They're pansies compared to me!"

"Ouch," said Sonia. "I don't think they're going to be very happy about that!"

"Well I get a lot of kids who are used to gyms from those places," she replied. "I usually give them a nasty wake-up call."

"But don't you think that's kind of harsh?" Sonia asked.

"Gyms in Northern California, Oregon and Washington are very competitive," Misty replied. "I'm only bringing that here to Southern California."

"Okay, moving on," said Sonia. "Why do you train Water Pokemon?"

"I'm not sure why," Misty replied. "But to be honest, I don't need too much of a reason. I've been in love with Water Pokemon since I was a little girl. And to be honest, I was raised in a Water gym, so it kind of makes sense if you think about it."

"I see," said Sonia. "I guess it's true you are the sister of the Sensational Sisters." Misty's face turned into a scowl. Sonia looked nervous again, thinking she had offended her. "Oh, I hope I didn't—"

"I really don't like being called the Sensational Sisters' sister," she said. "I mean I love them like I should, but I want to make my own name, not be automatically associated with them."

"Oh I see," said Sonia. "You just want to be known as Misty, not the other sister."

"Correct," said Misty.

"Okay then," Sonia said. "So, I've been told you were a witness to the Superman events, correct?"

"How did you know?" Misty asked. She seemed to be unaware she was linked to this.

"Well, according to some, you were the first person saved by Superman," Sonia said. "He saved you after an attempted bank robbery."

"Oh, that's right," she said. "I don't remember much about that day now, though."

"How come?" Sonia asked.

"Well it has been 8 years," Misty replied. "I haven't really focused on the past much."

"I remember the villain he faced was named Giovanni," Sonia said.

"Yeah, Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket," said Misty.

"What happened to him?" Sonia asked. "Wasn't he supposed to have a trial? And wouldn't Superman have been a witness?"

"In case you don't remember," Misty said. For those who are confused, don't be. She remembers what happened, you're about to have the fate of Giovanni revealed. "Giovanni plead guilty to all charges. He didn't have to go to trial and Superman didn't have to be a witness."

"Oh, that's right," said Sonia.

"And now Giovanni's rotting in the Colorado Supermax," Misty finished.

"Of course," said Sonia. "And why did Superman leave?"

"I'm not sure," said Misty. "In all honesty, I kind of forgot."

"That figures," said Sonia. "I think everyone forgot."

"In fact, I think some of my memories of the attack are hazy," she said. "I just remember watching it at my friend's house in Pallet."

"I see," said Sonia. She checked her phone. "I think our time is up."

"Already?" Misty asked.

"Yes," said Sonia. "It was a pleasure to meet you, though. I can see why you're one of the best."

"You know it," said Misty. "Call me the next time you want to have an interview… or a battle."

"We'll see about that," said Sonia. "Jimmy, let's go. So long!"

"So long," Misty said as she watched the two leave. Once they were out of sight, she got up from her chair and walked over to the refrigerator. She grabbed a juice while also grabbing some food for Butch and her Marill.

Butch eagerly watched while she poured the dog's food. As soon as she was done, he started gobbling it up. "It's good, isn't it?" she asked. The dog kept eating, so she just smiled. "Still, I wish she hadn't reminded me of that idiot," she said to herself. "Oh, what am I talking about, I reminded myself. I just wish he told me where he was going."

She gulped down her juice while leaving the kitchen to pick up the mail. It was the usual; bills, bills, bills. Any letter she got from opponents came via E-mail or Facebook. It's time to feed the Poke—DING-DONG!

"Who could that be?" she asked. "And why did they ring the doorbell?" She would get her answer when she opened the door.

"Raichu, Rai!" A Raichu leapt into her arms before she could tell what was going on.

"Um, hello," she said. "You seem happy to see me."

"He is," said a male voice. "He really missed you." She looked up to see…

Her jaw dropped. Her face showed an expression of pure surprise. In her stupor, she could only say one word.

"Ash?"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

End chapter

Hey guys, it's me! Sorry I haven't gotten this thing going for two years. I've been busy with other stuff. But, some reviews and faves made me come back to this. I hope you liked this one! Things are going to get going real soon, though.