Summary of previous chapter: Misty and Gary arrive at Indigo Plateau for the League's convention. Daisy is in the same room as Misty, and Gary is in the same room as Brock. Misty and Ash have to opportunities to talk but are interrupted before they can really speak out the minds. A trainer Misty meets in the convention tells her Pikachu died last month.

Chapter 9 – Indigo Plateau: Day 2

A knock on Misty's door forced the redhead to open her eyes for a brief second before pulling the covers and covering her head with them. She could not believe how comfortable her bed was, and how anyone could possibly purposely want to interrupt her sleep. The knocking got louder and faster but Misty did not budge, rolling to the side of the bed and tightening her grip on the blankets. A third knock on the door made her growl and mumble something along the lines of "Gary, go away," before closing her eyes again.

"Darling, Gary is not here," a female voice said.

Misty opened her eyes and in a quick motion removed the covers from her head, sitting on her bed with eyes wide open. She stared at her sister as she stood up from the bed and went to the door to open it. "Good morning, leaders. I was sent to inform you that breakfast will be ready in five minutes. Please join us there."

Daisy smiled at the man outside her door and thanked him for letting them know about breakfast before closing the door and heading to the bathroom. Misty blushed at the thought of her sister hearing her call Gary's name so early in the morning, but she had forgotten where she was. Yesterday's evening seemed like a dream but she quickly realized that she truly was in Indigo Plateau, she was starting at her sister, and that she had seen and spoken for a brief second at the elevator with Ash last night.

Daisy walked out of the restroom and headed to her luggage to choose the clothes she was wearing today. "So, tell me Misty. Gary wakes you up with a banging on the door or by banging your head on a headboard?"

Misty fell her face turn red as she got out from bed and headed to the restroom, not uttering a word. She heard her sister chuckle and she growled for the lack of quick wit to come up with a response. After fixing up herself she too headed to her bag and chose what to wear for the day. Daisy sat on her bed and began reading a magazine while she waited for Misty to be ready to leave. Looking at her set of new clothes, Misty realized there was something she had to tell her sister before she returned home. With a trembling voice she spoke. "Daisy, I need to apologize to you."

"What for sis?" Daisy asked without shifting her eyes away from the magazine.

"The night…the night at the carnival, I was…I was wearing your clothes…and…"

Daisy looked up and faced her sister. She could not believe her little sister was apologizing for something so stupid. She could be 70 years old and she would still apologize to her for the dumbest things. "Misty, like, there's no need to apologize. We're just so happy you're alright and safe."

Misty nodded and after a quick second of meditation she hurried up to get dressed. In a matter of minutes, Daisy and Misty were downstairs in the room they had dinner the night before, only that today there were buffet tables with plenty of breakfast food. The two other sisters ran to the entrance as soon as Misty and Daisy had gone inside and they all made it to the buffet together. It had been a long time since the four sisters sat down and ate together, and they felt this was a special occasion to them. Misty grabbed a small plate and put some eggs and bacon on it, as well as toast. The rest of the sisters filled their plates with portions of all the food there was and after fighting the crowd, they headed to older sisters' table. Gary was already there and eating.

"Morning, Gary!"

"Morning girls…and Misty."

Misty scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her sisters giggled as they sat and began eating and enjoying the scene. Misty remained standing up, holding her plate on one hand and not truly wanting to sit down at the same table with him anymore after his comment. "I just meant you're a woman. Your sisters are still girls."

"Are you calling me old?" Misty asked tapping the floor with her foot, plate still on one hand and her other hand on her hip.

"That's not what I meant." Gary said, focusing on a piece of bacon that was trying to escape his plate and his fork. "Sit down, Misty. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Misty shook her head. She knew Gary was kidding around, and his sarcastic comments had never truly annoyed her until today. She did not know why it had hurt her so much, but it had and that was all that mattered to her at the moment. "No, thanks. I'm gonna go to my table. See you girls later."

Gary dropped his fork and stared at her with an annoyed face. "Misty, stop acting like a child and sit down with us. If you don't hang out with us now, you won't be able to do it until lunch."

Misty frowned. "I don't want to talk to you. It's a little bit too early to insult me, don't you think?"

Gary grabbed his napkin and cleaned his mouth before standing up and throwing the napkin on his plate. "I'm full. I'll see you girls later."

Gary went around the table and walked right next to Misty without saying a word or even looking at her for a second. She had not ever seen Gary so upset and he had most certainly never given her the cold shoulder like this before. Misty stared at him until he disappeared behind the exit of the room. She placed her plate on the table and sat, but suddenly she was not very hungry anymore. She just stared at the plate of perfectly edible food that looked like perfectly inedible crap to her.

"That was harsh Misty. Like, why'd you do that?"

"Me? He was the one who started it!"

Her sisters looked at her with a condescending face before speaking to her again.

"Mist, that is, like, no way to treat your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? He's not my boyfriend!"

"Where have we heard this before?"

"He's not!"

"As if! We've seen the news. You guys are, like, the hottest couple in the Pokemon World."

"We're not! There's nothing between Gary and me!"

"If you say so, but we think there should be. Isn't Ash dating that girl Dawn? Like, you should totally move on too."

"Ash is dating Dawn?"

"You…didn't know?"

"Does this seem like the face of a person who knows?!"

"Misty, chill out. We're your sisters and just want the best for you. Gary's, like, a really sweet guy."

"Wouldn'tyou know, Daisy?"

"Like, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't act innocent, Daisy. You and Gary…"

"Me and Gary what?"

Misty could not bring herself to say it. All three of her sisters were staring at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence but she could not. How was she supposed to ask her sister about her hidden relationship with Gary without sounding like she was jealous? She could not prove her point of she did.

Misty rapidly tapped the table with her fingers while her eyes wandered around the room avoiding the mocking looks of her sisters. She stood up and left without saying another word. Her sisters saw her leave and disappear behind the closing doors of the conference room.

"Like, what's her problem?"

"I don't know but I'm gonna find out."

The three older sisters finished their breakfast while the younger sister made her way down the halls looking for Gary. She had gone up to his room but nobody had been there, and part of her felt thankful that Brock was not there either. She still did not know if Brock still considered her a friend and did not want to spoil whatever effort Gary had made to reconcile their friendship.

She had checked her room and the main lobby as well, but with so many people around Gary was nowhere to be seen. After twenty minutes of searching for him, Misty finally gave up and stepped out of the building, sitting on a bench in front of the door. She allowed her legs to stretch and covered her face with her hands, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She felt horrible inside. She truly did, and she wanted nothing more than to apologize to him. "It was stupid. I was stupid."

She kept her hands on her face, slowly feeling better for now. With her eyes closed and with everything she had done so far she felt her body relax to the point of feeling drowsy. She still had 45 more minutes until the first session and she really felt like taking a quick nap. She uncovered her face and yawned before opening her eyes again.

And there he was, standing in front of her and lit a cigarette.

He had a face full of grief, and his posture denoted how tired he really was. When she had seen him yesterday at the elevator she had avoided eye contact with him as much as possible. However, at this moment there was no way she could avoid him. He was standing two feet away from her, and she was positive she had not developed the power of invisibility in the past three seconds. He took the cigarette to his mouth and exhaled the smoke in such a fashion a bystander would think he had been doing it all his life.

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and tapped it in between his fingers, making some of the ash fall to the ground. He looked up and stared directly at her eyes and without saying a word he walked towards her and sat right next to her on the same bench. He rested his elbows on his thighs and allowed his head to hang down while he repeated his smoking motion before he spoke. "How're ya feeling, Mist?"

She turned around and faced him, not believing he was really sitting next to her and had just asked her how she was, or the fact that he was smoking. Yet, the best part of all for her was that his eyes showed the old Ash, the one she had met and fallen in love with. Whatever happened between them this moment, it would happen between the old Ash, and the old Misty.

She clenched her fists to avoid the need to place her hands on his face or from smacking his hand and making him drop the cigarette, and all she did was nod to answer his question. She turned around and stared at the floor. Ash could not stop staring at her. She was really there, and he was really there, and they were alone. For both of them, the time they had spent apart had been too long, and many things had happened to them. There were so many questions to ask and many stories to tell, but all she could do now was staring at her interesting feet. She had to say something, anything, to get the conversation started.

She sighed and sadly recalled the news she had been given last night by Becca Gall and felt it was a good time to let her feelings known about the situation. "Heard 'bout Pikachu. I'm truly sorry."

Ash lowered his cap like he always did when he was avoiding eye contact or a particular conversation. The last time he had done that to her they had broken up. However, there was nothing to break anymore. Misty knew it was just too early to talk about it with him but she did not want Ash to feel he had to face this loss alone.

"Thanks. Still can't believe he's gone."

"I can't believe it either. I'd never thought he would…y'know, not in a long time."

"Yeah. He was old for a Pokemon but he was a great friend."

Misty sighed again while she nervously played with her hands. Ash smoked some more.

"Did you…?"

"Yeah…he's at my mom's house."

"Couldn't have chosen a better place myself. How's your mom?"

"She's alright. She asked me about ya."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She found out about…that night…I told her you were in good hands."

Misty chuckled. "I am."

They remained quiet for a while and stared at the trees and birds around them. Misty stared at her watch to make sure she was not late to her first session but only two minutes had passed since she sat on that bench. She sighed for the tenth time in a span of two minutes. Ash cleared his throat. It was amazing to see how two people who had experienced moments of great intimacy in the past were not able to have a civil conversation anymore. Ash opened up his mouth to speak several times but nothing he could think of was good enough to talk about. He knew she was coming to the convention and even though he had been expecting to talk to her and see her again, now that he was sitting next to her he had absolutely nothing to say. Ash cursed his luck and said the first thing that came to his mind, just for the sake of breaking the awkward silence between them.

"About the carnival…I'm glad nothing bad happened to you."

Misty nodded. "It was a close call, but Gary rescued me just in time."

"Gary!"they both thought.

"Gary's a pretty stand up guy. Is he annoying as a supervisor?"

Misty smiled. "Not at all! He's very sweet, and kind and caring. He's saved my ass more than one time."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Guy's pretty amazing."

"Sounds like you guys are getting along pretty well."

"We are. I really trust him."

"That's good."

"Yup."

"But you shouldn't."

Misty turned around and faced Ash, frowning at him for a quick second. She did not want to jump into conclusions and took the innocent approach to clarify what he had just said. "What?"

"I said you shouldn't trust him."

Misty crossed her arms, feeling offended that Ash had just said that about him…twice. Sure, he was a flirt sometimes, and sometimes he could really get on her nerves, but he had not done anything intentional to hurt her.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because I know him, and I know you, and I know why he's there. Just, don't trust him."

Misty could not believe her ears.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand why I shouldn't trust him. I thought he was your friend. How can you talk about him like that?"

"I thought that too, but he's not. It's not like he doesn't talk shit about me too."

"What?!"

Ash took off his cap and scratched his head then placed his cap back on. Misty eyed him not being able to believe Ash was telling her that Gary was not to be trusted. How dare he say that about Gary when the one that had been breaking his back to bring the Gym to its current level all along with her had been Gary and not Ash?

"Look, I can't tell ya much, but he's not what he seems to be."

"How is he not what he seems to be? Is he a fairy? A Caterpie in disguise? What?" Misty asked as she threw her arms in the air.

Ash growled as his desperation rose. He regretted bringing up the conversation but he knew things about Gary that Misty did not know. He had promised himself he would not get involved in Gary's games but he had not known he would play them with Misty's feelings as well.

"Ash?"

"Just trust me, ok? Don't trust him. He's not being honest with you."

Misty scoffed. "Don't you have the balls to tell me something like that? Why should I trust youover him?"

"Just do as I say. Don't question my motives."

"What? No! If anyone has given me any reasons not to trust him is you. Gary has done nothing more than take care of me and help me keep my home; my home that I almost lost! How would you feel if someone kicked out your mom from her house?"

Ash dropped the cigarette on the floor and stomp on it several times as he responded.

"Are you blind? He's not doing this for you! He's doing this for himself!"

Misty stood up from the bench resting her left hand on her hip and using her right hand to point at Ash. "Shut up! You're just mad that I have someone I can trust and you don't. Aren't you and Dawn getting along? Are you gonna dump her on your next birthday too?"

"What?"

"Don't play stupid with me! I know you and Dawn are dating. My sisters told me."

"Your sisters?"

"Yes!"

"Your sisters told you I was dating Dawn but they didn't tell you about Gary?"

"Whatabout Gary?"

"About Gary…and Daisy?"

"What about Gary and Daisy?"

"Yes, what about me and Daisy, Ash?"

Misty and Ash turned around to see a visibly upset Gary Oak. He was standing near the door with his hands inside his pockets, and an angry face. "Gary, I've been looking all over for you."

"Yes, I can see that. But I don't think that guy sitting there is me."

Misty exhaled desperately. "I came here to take a break. I couldn't find you anywhere."

"You don't need to explain anything to me, Misty. I just came here 'cause your sisters asked me if I had seen you. I thought you were in trouble but it seems to me you're perfectly fine."

"Gary, don't do this. We need to talk."

"Right now? You seemed pretty busy to me."

Misty turned around and faced Ash, torn that on one side she had Ash in front of her but could not patch things up, while on the other side she had Gary who was obviously and rightfully upset. She had to choose one person to please at a time.

She stared back and forth between Ash and Gary until she turned to Ash and walked to him. He stood up and looked at her while she approached him. He looked down at her as she gave him the most honestly concerned face he had ever seen on her. She opened her arms and gave him a big hug he did not return. "I'm really sorry about Pikachu. That's all I have to say."

Ash reacted too late to be able to hold her in his arms again. She pulled away from him and then walked towards Gary, grabbed his arm and took him back inside the building. Ash saw them disappear behind the doors. He sat on the bench again and lit another cigarette as he recalled the feeling of seeing her face in front of his again. "You ain't taking her away from me."

Misty did not let go of Gary's arm until they were in her room. She locked the door and turned around, clasping her hands together, still shaking from her encounter with Ash. "Gary, are you hiding something from me?" she asked him straight out with hurting, pleading eyes.

Gary was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Ash…Ash told me you were toying with me. That there was something I should know about you and Daisy. Please, please tell what is it?"

Gary walked towards her and cupped her face in his hands. The gesture made Misty break down in tears and lose balance. Gary held her and carefully guided her to the floor so she did not hurt herself and just lay there, both of them on their knees, for a moment without uttering a word.

Gary's heart was pained to hear her sob uncontrollably as her fingers dug into his skin as if she was holding onto him for dear life. She slid her hands from his arms to his shoulders and pulled him towards her. He welcomed the embrace and followed it up by placing his arms around her and massaging her back while whispering words of comfort and support.

They remained like that for quite some time until Misty's sobs became inexistent and her body had stopped shaking. Her encounter with Ash had been more difficult than she had thought it would be. Seeing him again, listening to his voice and seeing his pain had brought back throbbing memories she thought she had locked in the back of her mind. She had been awfully wrong. She sniffed a few times and then pulled herself away from him, looking up at him.

"Gary, what's going on?"

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"Please don't say that. I need to know."

"The only thing I know is that I'm sorry about this morning. I was upset at something that happened last night. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Misty shook her head. "No, you don't have to apologize. It was me. I was the one who snapped at you for no reason. I'm very sorry."

Gary nodded and stood up. He then helped Misty stand up and sat her on her bed before sitting right next to her. He grabbed her right hand with his left before he spoke again. "Misty, the reason why I was so mad this morning is because I talked to Brock last night."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"What'd he say?"

Gary opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was not sure how he could say what he was about to say. Bottom line was that she needed the truth, and if he could not tell him the truth about him, he was at least going to tell her the truth about Brock. "He doesn't want to talk you anymore. I'm sorry."

Misty felt a bucket filled with cold water being down poured at her. She looked down at the floor as she felt the tears trying to make their way back up but she could not afford to cry again. They had to be in their first session in about 15 minutes and she could not look like she had been crying herself to sleep. She took deep breaths to calm herself and Gary patted her back, having nothing else he could say or do to cheer her up. He had to change the conversation before the situation got worse." What happened to Pikachu?"

Misty sighed, feeling the need to cry and mourn for him too but she did not. She had to be strong, and she had to regain her mind right now. "It's a long story but he died in a Pokemon Center about a month ago while Ash was away visiting his mom."

"Oh…poor Ash," he said and really meant it while thinking of his Squirtle dying. He could not imagine the pain Ash was going through, but he could feel the same fear Ash probably felt when he found out Pikachu had died. Gary still had his starter Pokemon, and did not even want to conceive the thought of having to bury him without even getting the chance of saying goodbye.

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, this other supervisor told me. She was in my table last night. Her name is Becca something."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Becca Gall?"

"Yes, that's her. She said she knew you…very well."

"Yeah, a little. We oughta go downstairs. You gonna be ok?"

Misty nodded and confirmed it with a big smile. She did not care what Ash had to say about Gary. In her eyes he was an honest guy and nothing Ash ever said would change that about him. Both trainers stood up from her bed and in a matter of seconds entered the conference room where Lance was asking for trainers to take their seat. Gary and Misty parted ways and sat in the same place they had been seating last night.

Lance relinquished the microphone to Maya who greeted everyone and thanked them for being up bright and early. "It feels great to be surrounded by wonderful people this morning. Allow me to introduce some them. Please stand up when I call your name."

Maya went about to introduce all of the supervisors and the gym leaders they were advising. Every set of partners would get applauded after Maya mentioned something remarkable about them and their work. The more Maya talked, the more nervous Misty got. She had mentioned seven leaders, Brock included, and she knew she was next.

"And last, but most certainly not least, Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower please stand up and come to the stand."

Misty gulped. She knew she had to stand up and had made her peace with it, but now she had to walk and stand in front of all these people? She forced her legs to move and after a matter of seconds she was joining Gary who was already on the stand. "These two remarkable young people deserve special recognition today. Mr. Oak is a widely known and highly trusted Pokemon researcher who graced us with his presence when he accepted to join the League. Misty Waterflower is the youngest sister of four who had left home to travel and returned to bring back the Cerulean Gym to the prestige it stood upon when her parents took over years ago. These two people have worked so hard, and had devoted days and nights to make Cerulean's Water Pokemon Gym what it is today: the only undefeated Gym since the new implementations were set with the most visitors and with the most sophisticated technology both in the arena and out of it."

Misty felt a blush creeping up to her face. Gary felt at home in front of crowds, but he felt he did not deserve as much credit as Misty did. Yet, he smiled and allowed Maya to play her games.

"Please join me in presenting the award for best Pokemon Gym of the year, to Cerulean's City's Gym Leader and Supervisor, Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak."

Maya handed them a certificate, and a plaque while shaking hands with them. The crowd got up from their seats to give the partners a standing ovation. Gary held Misty's hand and raised it above her head with his before letting it go and placing his left arm around her, pulling her ear close to this lips. "Enjoy it, Red. You earned every fucking bit of it."

Misty chuckled at his choice of words before hugging him too and thanking Maya for the award. After the crowd sat back down, Gary and Misty parted ways and returned to their assigned tables.

It was a great day in Indigo Plateau.

"Thank you. Now if you please direct your attention to the folders places on your tables you will find the necessary materials for today's session."

The members picked up a folder and began following the schedule for today's sessions."

"We will begin with two sessions, each two hours long. After this you will come back here and join us for lunch for about an hour and a half. Then you will return to your conference rooms and have two other two-hour sessions and return here for a lottery."

Misty scanned her paper and realized supervisors had one set of trainings, researchers had another set of trainings, and gym leaders had their own sessions. "I guess this is really what I'm here for."

"Enjoy your sessions and I will see you in four."


Misty felt her head spin at the amount of information she had been given throughout the day. Even though most of the information had been passed on to her by Gary previous to the meeting, hearing it being explained so detailed had made her thankful that she was leaving the Gym in no more than four weeks. She did not think she could do all of the new requirements for a living.

She sat on her table and waited for the rest of the trainers to fill the room. She was starving and felt happy to see the waiters starting to bring dinner to the tables. As she waited for her plate, she stared at the entrance of the room, hoping to get to talk to Gary before the lottery began. She had been meaning to talk to him about things she wanted to do before they left the Gym for good, and deep inside she felt excited of being part of the League. She continued to stare at the entrance and saw Brock come in, as well as her sisters, and Ash and Dawn. A couple of minutes after Ash's entrance she saw Becca Gall coming inside the room with Gary.

She had her arms around his arm, and Misty did not like it.

She saw him wave at her and she waved back only to cover up the unprecedented amount of jealousy she was feeling. She took a sip of her drink before turning away and focusing on the wrinkles of her tablecloth.

"Members, please take your seat. The lottery is about to begin."

Misty looked up to see Lance carry a box with many papers inside. She looked around but could not see any presents or prizes, making her wonder what the lottery was really about. She could only hope it was not to take the stand and give a speech because she was not ready to get back on it again today. A few moments later, Lance was pulling out papers from the box and reading the names on them out loud.

"Dawn Hall, Gary Oak, Becca Gall, Brock Slate, Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, and Daisy Waterflower; congratulations! You are battling tonight and tomorrow night!"

Misty's eyes opened wide at Lance's statement.

"Trainers, you have 15 minutes to gather your Pokemon. We begin the first half of the rounds tonight! For the rest of you, we will see all of you in 20 minutes in the official Pokemon stadium on the back of the building. Let's get going!"

Misty stayed there, not truly understanding what had happened. Somewhere between getting dinner and getting ready to sleep she had been called to battle six other people including her ex-boyfriend, her sister, and her ex-best friend. She did not worry about Dawn, Becca or even Gary, but battling the first three was something she was not expecting to do in this convention. She was never told she had to fight.

She did not think she had any option and slowly stood up and went to the room to gather her Pokemon belt before arriving to the battling arena. The entire Pokemon League was present and the other trainers were already seated and ready to go. She walked to the stage and sat on the only open seat. Two seconds later the first battle had begun.

"Battle between Dawn Hall and Gary Oak. They will battle with one Pokemon per battle, using a maximum of three Pokemon. Best two out of three wins."

And with the sound of the crowd cheering for both of the trainers, Misty's nerves rising, and Gary Oak prepared to show off, the second day of sessions ended for the members of the Pokemon League in Indigo Plateau.

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Only 3 more chapters to go! Stay tuned!