Nick overlooked the hill in awe, the sweeping city on the bay taking her breath away.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Misty came up next to her, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Well I didn't exactly get to appreciate Viridian, either," Nick commented, eyeing Ash.
Ash chuckled. "Yeah, well…. Can you blame me for being excited?"
Cerulean City seemed to have been built with the sole purpose of reflecting the water off of Cerulean Bay. The towering buildings were seemingly entirely composed of glass with arrays of blues. Fountains were found in nearly every intersection, statues of Water Type Pokemon adorning them. The coast along the bay seemed to be purposefully kept underdeveloped with a pier overlooking the water and a beach alongside it. People walked along it with the families and Pokemon alike.
Now it was Nick's turn to run down the hill, the other two trainers in tow. She had already pinned where Cerulean Gym was on her map and made a beeline for it. Square-mileage of the city was actually rather minimal, as it was with nearly all Kanto cities, so it took only a few minutes for the three to set foot at the edge of the property.
In seemingly its own district, Cerulean City Gym was immense. The edge of the property expanded out and around the Gym with a huge landscape of trees and pools. The pools had people and Pokemon playing in them around the outskirts of the Gym, apparently open to the public. The Gym itself reflected the architecture of the city with expansive windows on opposite angles dipping down from the roof. There was a marble bridge with pillars over the water just outside the Gym with double doors below the Pokemon League symbol awaiting trainers.
"I see someone's been working on the Gym and not just their skills," Ash pointed out.
Misty smirked. "Well since I became the Gym Leader, the Gym has won its fair share of battles, getting more grants from the League to remodel. Daisy and I designed it together. We proposed to the League that we make public pools in addition to a Water Type rescue and rehabilitation center. We have families and trainers adopting out Pokemon almost every day."
Nick's eyes shone wide. "Misty, that's amazing!"
She rubbed her knuckles against her shirt and blew on them. "If I do say so, myself."
Nick snorted. "Why don't you show me around, then?"
The two girls started forward, but Ash hesitated. He suddenly felt a pulsing sensation coarse through him, leading him in the direction of the Gym. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. He jogged to catch up.
At the doors of the Gym, Misty pushed them open wide to reveal the lobby. There was a fountain in the center with a statue of a Dewgong spewing water out the mouth. There was a distinct smell of chlorine coming from seemingly everywhere and people were moving in and out of changing rooms on the right and left.
At the back of the bustling lobby were double doors with the Gym's logo above them. Misty walked straight up and pulled out keys from her pullstring with a matching Pokemon League logo dangling from a keychain. She turned the key and pushed through the doors.
The interior of the battlefield itself looked nearly-untouched. The pink bleachers still lined the walls with the front and back having tall platforms for the battling trainers. Above the bleachers were tanks of Water Pokemon.
Misty led the group to a door going below the bleachers and leading up the hallways with tanks. Misty's Pokemon swam forward and smiled at them, waving through the glass. Politoed, Caserin, and Goldeen all came forward to greet Ash and Pikachu as well.
Despite being nearly surrounded by water, Riku seemed more comfortable than he should be around the other Pokemon. He went right up to the tanks alongside Pikachu.
Ash paused again as Misty opened a door at the end of the hallway. He felt the pulsing sensation again and stepped forward, scanning the room.
"Daisy! I'm here!" Misty called out.
They walked into an expansive floor plan with a high sun-rooved ceiling.
"What are you doing back so soon?!" Daisy called from the kitchen, running out in an apron and covered in flour. She rushed at Misty and swept her into a hug.
"A bit more affectionate with the sisters now, isn't she?" Nick commented. Pikachu and Riku snickered, but Nick turned to look at Ash, he seemed to stare at a closed door off to the side.
Before she could ask if he was okay, there was a puff of black smoke that emerged from the kitchen followed by a fire extinguisher spraying.
"Sorry, sorry!" said a voice emerging from the other room. A wide-eyed, soot and flour-stained Clemont appeared, but then stopped in his tracks.
Ash gaped at him.
"Ash?!" Clemont pulled off his glasses and wiped them on what little of his apron was still white. He replaced them and blinked. "It is you!" Ash couldn't react before Clemont was on him, hugging him. He pulled back to look at Ash, and he smiled. "It's so good to see you! How have you been? I haven't seen you since then!"
Ash finally recoiled and scratched the back of his head. "I… uh… yeah. I'm sorry about that, Clemont. I meant to call... How's the Gym? And Bonnie?"
Clemont beamed. "Don't worry about it! Bonnie is great! She started her journey a few months ago but decided to come home for a break. In fact, she's a certified Gym Leader while I'm doing research! I mean, Clembot is teaching her a lot, but she's learning pretty quickly!"
"That's'… that's great! I'm so happy for you guys," Ash conceded.
Nick raised her eyebrows at Ash. She realized from how much Bonnie has grown as a trainer… it had to have been a long time since Ash actually traveled, then.
Clemont turned to Nick and held out a hand. "Hi there, I'm Clemont!"
Nick blinked before clasping his hand. "Hey, I'm Nick! I'm challenging the Kanto League and traveling with Ash and Misty," she said with a smile.
"Ah, so you must be Misty," Clemont said, walking over. "I've heard quite a bit about you from your sisters."
While Misty sheepishly introduced herself to Clemont, and he chatted with her about Gym Leader responsibilities, Nick eyed Ash as he disappeared through the previously-closed door.
He stepped through the door, pushing it open and walked straight to one of the white dressers. The room was decorated in bright pinks and reds and flowers adorning the walls. Sitting atop the dresser was a black briefcase, entirely out of place in the vibrant room.
Ash motioned to open the briefcase before Nick purposefully coughed.
Ash started and spun around to face Nick, very pale.
Nick folded her arms. "What are you doing?"
"I…." Ash turned back to look at the briefcase then turned back to Nick. "I don't… remember…."
Before Nick could open her mouth to question him, a new voice approached them.
"I thought I recognized your voice," said Tracy as he emerged from the bathroom attached. "Ash! How are you?"
Ash's eyes widened as he looked to Tracy and smiled. He ran over and clasped his hand in his own. "Good to see you, Tracy! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," he said. Nick watched as Ash visibly tensed, but Tracy continued. "I thought you were supposed to be helping out a new trainer or something."
"Oh!" he said, scratching the bad of his neck, "I am! This is Nick!" he said quickly, gesturing to her. "She's challenging the Kanto League!"
Nick feigned a smile and walked over, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you! I've heard a lot about you!"
Tracy's cheeks flushed briefly and he let out a nervous chuckle. "Only good things, I'm sure!"
While Nick listened to Tracy ramble for a moment, she chanced another glance at Ash whose eyes were still wide, his hands twitching.
Misty, Clemont, and Daisy walked in the room, Misty unsurprised to see Tracy among them as they started to talk.
"So what are you doing in Kanto?" Misty asked him, giving him a playful nudge. "Is helping out my sister with the Gym really the only reason?"
"I was actually just about to tell these two," he said, looking to Ash and Nick. The two snapped their heads to attention, everyone else oblivious to the silent tension between them. "You know I was working with Professor Sycamore on researching Mega Evolution…." he trailed off, stepping toward the briefcase. He picked it up and placed it on the bed in the middle of the room, facing it out for all to see. "And he asked that I take something back to Kanto with me."
Tracy clicked open the briefcase.
Nick had to shield her eyes much like the way she had at the Tree of Beginning.
There were rows of large, shining jewels, all with the identical double helix symbol. One row of stones were larger than the others, all with the same colors. The rest of the jewels below had individual colors glowing in a rainbow.
Nick turned to Ash who was staring in awe. That's when it clicked.
The Key Stones and Mega Stones were directly connected to Aura.
Which is what must have attracted Ash so strongly.
His eyes began to glow a bright blue and his hands twitched with glowing energy.
Nick inhaled sharply and grabbed Ash's wrist, squeezing it. He started with a jolt and snapped his head down to meet her eyes. She shook her head at him and he inhaled, the energy seemingly simmering down.
Nick wasn't the only one to notice though. Misty had seen the subtle exchange and visibly tensed.
"He wanted me to distribute these to trainers I could trust. In particular, he mentioned Ash," he said, "but I'm not the one doing much traveling, so I thought that you could distribute these to trainers you trust."
Ash swallowed hard. "Me?"
Tracy chuckled. "You seem to me like the perfect candidate! You even have two companions here traveling with you! Are you taking on the League again?"
Ash sputtered for a moment. "I mean, I thought about it… but we already rolled through some of the cities and all."
Misty stepped in. "I wouldn't say he'd need to," she pointed out. "He already has all eight badges, he doesn't really need a second set. It's just standard to re-challenge the entire League when going for the tournament. I would know, considering I'm a Gym Leader," she said with a wink. "I think he's more than qualified considering he's also certified to be a Battle Frontier Brain if he wanted to."
Clemont turned to Ash. "You never told me that! That's amazing, Ash!"
Said teen rubbed the back of his neck and flushed. "It's not something I thought I needed to brag about. Thanks, Mist," he said quietly.
She smirked. "Ash is talented but he's skilled to boot."
Daisy eyed Tracy for a moment out the corner of Nick's eye.
"So as I was saying, we could give you guys all Key and Mega Stones to test out." He plucked a Key Stone out of the briefcase and held it out to Ash.
He hesitated and eyed Nick and Misty.
Nick was the one to finally speak up. "Actually, Tracy… Ash has one. A real one, not the Greninja one from Kalos."
Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out his oversized Key Stone he collected at the Tree of Beginning.
"Holy smokes!" Clemont said. "That's huge! Where did you get this?!"
Misty spoke this time. "We've kind of been looking for something. You see, when Nick first got here, things started to… click."
"What do you mean?" Tracy asked, replacing the Key Stone in the case.
"You have memories of the past few years now, don't you?" Nick asked. "It seems like when I interact with this world, memories come back to people and time seems to change."
Daisy and Tracy exchanged glances.
"She's right," Daisy said with a sigh. "I hadn't spoken to Tracy in a few years before the other day. But neither of us had understood why. But then, Tracy came here to see me and bring the stones right when we gave Misty her Pokemon to go on the journey with you, Nick."
"And Bonnie hadn't been a trainer for very long when I asked her to take over the Gym," Clemont said. "But it felt like she had been for a few years."
Nick began to connect the dots in her head but thought better than to voice it to the group at large. "It's not a secret that I'm just a player in your world," she said. "But it only seems to be that way when I come into contact with people that it changes. Gary, Ash, Misty and Professor Oak all experienced this when I got my first Pokemon. Tracy, Daisy and Clemont did once they spoke with Misty about her Pokemon."
"So we went to the Tree of Beginning in Northern Kanto to see if we could find some answers," Misty added. "That's where we found the Key Stone."
"It seems like we have a lot more to learn from all of this than just Mega Evolution," Tracy said, putting a hand to his chin. "For now, we'll give you guys the Mega Stones to distribute and record the progress of the people you give them to once they interact with Nick."
To that, the three trainers on their journey nodded back.
"But having a Key Stone doesn't give you a Mega Stone," Tracy pointed out. He looked to Ash. "Who do you have with you?"
"Pikachu, Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape, Samurott, and Tyranitar."
Clemont pushed his glass further up on his face. "Ash, you have a few Pokemon that can Mega Evolve!"
He nodded. "Most of those Megas, I've seen, actually."
"But there's only one that the bond is more than strong enough to give a Mega Stone to," Tracy said, knowingly. He reached down and plucked out a stone, holding out a pale orange, red and yellow glowing stone.
Ash gaped at the stone for a moment before picking it up and fisting the stone. "We won't let you down, Tracy!"
He smiled before turning back to the briefcase. "In that case," Tracy said, taking out two stones, "I think these belong to you, Misty." He outstretched his palm with a Key Stone and an orange, red and blue Mega Stone.
Misty beamed at him before gingerly taking them from Tracy and clutching them to her chest. "We've worked so hard for this, Gyarados!" she said, tears brimming in her eyes.
Daisy and Tracy smiled at her, remembering how they had won their first battle together years ago.
Tracy looked to Nick. "I know you're just starting out, but you deserve to have one too." He reached down and handed her a Key Stone. "What Pokemon do you have on you?"
Nick opened her mouth to speak but then realized something. "My partner is a Vulpix," she said, gesturing down to Riku sitting with Pikachu, "but I also have Charmander and Nidoran."
Tracy smirked before turning and picking out a Key Stone and a Mega Stone in a spot slightly off of the row from the rest of the stones. He held them out to Nick.
The Mega Stone was a brilliantly glowing blue and black stone. The colors seemed a little duller than the rest of the Mega Stones in the case, but she picked them up and studied them.
"That," Tracy said carefully, "is an experiment. Considering your situation, and the fact that you don't yet have a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve… but the coincidence of the potential of one… this is definitely the Mega Stone for you."
"That's not a coincidence, Tracy," Ash spoke up with a smile. "That Charmander belongs to my Charizard."
Tracy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Never thought I'd see the day that Ash learned about biology."
Clemont added, "He does find science fairly interesting!"
Misty pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. Now we have not one but two complete idiots."
Clemont seemed to want to take offense to the comment but didn't understand why. He figured asking questions would further prove her point and chose to stay quiet.
Daisy snickered and rolled her eyes. "Boys."
"Tracy," Clemont started, "if it's alright with you, I'd like to go with Nick on her journey."
Nick's eyes widened as Clemont turned to her. They were about eye-level with Clemont slightly taller. He looked her dead in the eyes.
"I feel that following you is something that I need to do. I can directly observe the effects of the Mega Stones while also trying to figure out what's going on around you. And it doesn't exactly hurt that I can travel with Ash again." he added, briefly smiling to Ash. Nick saw him smile back. "So if you would have me, I'd like to follow you, too."
Nick smiled, reaching out her hand. "Welcome to the team, Clemont. You have our backs, and we'll have yours."
He smiled with determination. "I won't let you down."
"Here," Tracy said, tapping Clemont on the shoulder and dropping two more stones into his hand. "You'll need these then," he said with a wink.
Clemont looked from Tracy and down to the stones. There was another Key Stone and a gray, red, yellow and orange Mega Stone. Clemont looked back up to Tracy.
"Hey, you weren't a Gym Leader and a researcher for nothing," Tracy added.
"Thank you so much," he said, staring down at the stones.
"As for myself…" He leaned down and took a Key Stone for himself before selecting a red and gray glowing stone. He looked to Ash and held it up. "Do you approve then?"
Ash smiled and pumped out a fist. "Of course, Tracy!"
Daisy clasped her hands together. "This is so exciting! I think we should all have dinner together tonight! Then if you'd like, Nick and I can have our battle tomorrow!" She turned to her and winked. "What do you say?"
Nick smirked. "If you're up to it, then so am I!"
As dinner concluded and everyone was helping clear and clean the table, Ash leaned over Misty's shoulder. "Mind if I use your phone? I still have a few calls to make."
"Yeah, there's one in my room too," she said.
Nick overheard them and walked over. She added in a hushed voice. "Before you do though, I think we should discuss what happened today. Were you able to sense the stones?"
Ash grimaced. "I think so. I think that it's my Aura abilities."
"That doesn't surprise me considering the Tree of Beginning," Misty said. "Should we tell the others what's going on?"
"No," Ash said quickly. The two girls raised eyebrows at him. "The less that know about me, the better. I don't want to put anyone in danger."
"Ash, I think you're the one in danger," Nick said hesitantly. "Team Rocket already attacked us, and we're probably being followed. And they didn't exactly seem intent on catching Pikachu."
Misty chewed her bottom lip. "I'm worried that Nick is right. I think it would be helpful to tell them. And they've been researching Mega Evolution. They might be able to help us."
Ash put down the plate he was holding and turned away. "I need to go make some phone calls."
Misty and Nick exchanged glances.
"The battle for the Cascade Badge will now begin!" Tracy called out.
"Seaking, let's go!" Daisy called out.
"Nidoran, let's do this!" Nick called.
Both Pokemon appeared in the air over the Cerulean City Gym's main pool and battlefield. Nidoran landed on one of the many floating platforms with Seaking in the water.
"Nidoran, just in the water!" Nick called.
"What is she doing?!" Misty shouted and she, Ash and Clemont stood up in the stands.
"Seaking, follow it down!" Daisy called.
"I'm hoping she has a plan." Clemont commented. "Seaking has the obvious advantage in the water."
Ash watched Nick carefully.
"Use Double Team!" Nick then called. The three looked on as Nidoran multiplied underwater.
"Seaking! Use Fury Attack!" Daisy shouted. The Water Type swam through the water, quickly taking out the Nidoran one at a time.
Ash watched as Nick's eyes scanned the field. She knew which one was the real Nidoran. He watched as she waited.
"Now use Poison Tail while it's distracted!" Nick commanded.
From behind the Seaking, the real Nidoran lunged forward and collided perfectly centered on the Seaking's top fin.
"Holy shit!" Misty yelled, putting a hand to her forehead. "That was genius! How did she know which one was hers?"
Ash scoffed, folding his arms. "She knows her Pokemon well. That, and years of experience."
Clemont stared at Ash. "But isn't she just starting her journey?"
"Well, it's not exactly her first go-around," Ash said slowly. "You're aware that she's not from… here?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Clemont asked. "This isn't her first game?"
Misty and Ash exchanged glances. Misty spoke up. "No… but she also watched the show."
"Makes sense then," Clemont commented. "She's seen some intense real-time battles, then."
Misty and Ash's eyes both widened, realizing that none of them had told Clemont about the details of Nick's real life. How he knew that was beyond them, and they knew Nick hadn't had the chance to speak with Clemont with the three of them having agreed to not disclose all of the details yet.
Just then, there was a spray of water over the edge of the pool, and Seaking floated to the top, eyes closed and belly up.
"Seaking is unable to battle," Tracy called, "so the battle goes to Nidoran!"
"Seaking, return," Daisy said, bringing back the Goldfish Pokemon. "That was really intelligent battling, Nick. But you'll have a lot more to deal with next. Luverin, let's go!"
The Luvdisc with a little crown on its head appeared in the water and smirked at Nidoran.
"Luvdisc, use Heart Stamp!" Daisy called.
"Dodge it, Nidoran! Hop onto the floats!" Nick called.
Nidoran wasn't quicker than Luverin in the water. The Luvdisc caught up to Nidoran with ease and delivered a dead-on attack. Nidoran shook her head, but was stunned.
"Nidoran, get out of the water!" Nick called. But the Pokemon kept shaking her head, unable to move.
"Water Pulse!" Daisy shouted.
Luverin sucked in water before blowing it out and forward, breaking the surface causing a geyser to erupt beneath Nidoran, sending her into the air. She was pushed back so hard that she soared over to Nick, her catching the defeated Pokemon in her arms.
"Nidoran is unable to battle!" Tracy called.
"Nidoran, return," Nick said. "You did great," she whispered to the Pokeball, replacing it on her belt. She picked out her next Pokemon. "Riku, let's do this!"
"That's not good," Clemont commented.
"Her other two Pokemon are pure Fire Type," Misty said. "She doesn't have a choice."
"Well if her ability in Pewter proved anything, she should be just fine." Ash said, sitting back.
"Riku, use Hypnosis!"
"Dodge it, Luverin! Use Attract!"
"Status move for status move," Clemont observed. "Riku's in trouble now."
The Attract had landed, and Riku seemed rather giddy.
"Love or not, Riku can still move," Nick said. "Use Ember!"
"That's not gonna do much," Clemont added.
"But it's smart," Misty said. "Riku's other moves would require him getting too close to the water. Ember is a ranged attack and keeps him far enough away."
The said Pokemon sprayed Fire in all directions, not wanting to necessarily target Luverin.
"Nick, are you crazy?! I'm gonna have to get the Gym repaired again!" Misty yelled at her.
Ash grabbed her arm. "Don't distract her. Let her do what she needs to."
"I take it back, that wasn't smart," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Look!" Clemont said, pushing up his glasses. Sure enough, some of the attacks from Ember did land on Luverin. The Pokemon recoiled, and it was clear that it left a mark. "It's burned! Is that dumb luck or what?"
"Riku and Nick are really strong, despite her just starting out," Ash said. "I don't think that's a coincidence. They train nearly every day."
Luverin was panting at this point, settling just at water level. Daisy called, "Come on, Luverin! Water Pulse again!"
"Riku, get out of there!" Nick called.
But Riku was still trapped in the effect of Attract, and Luverin had aim. The water washed over Riku, knocking him straight into the water. Dazed but managing, he came up out of the water and slumped onto the floating platform.
"Vulpix is unable to battle! Luverin wins the matchup!" Tracy called.
"You did great, Riku," Nick said, raising the pokeball. The Pokemon returned to her and she clipped it to her belt.
"Luverin!" Daisy yelled.
All eyes turned to the remaining Pokemon. But it came up in the water on its side, clearly down for the count.
"Luvdisc is unable to battle!" Tracy called.
"Wow!" Clemont exclaimed. "The burn must have taken her out, and after all of that battling…."
"I think Nick was planning for that," Misty said, her breath taken away. She turned to Ash. "You've been training with her," she said expectantly.
Ash held up his hands in surrender. "Look, I just battle with her. If she asks for advice, I give it, but she never mentioned trying to turn up the temperature on Ember. That's pretty impressive for anyone."
"Please call out your final Pokemon," Tracy called.
"Dewgong, let's go!" Daisy called.
The signature Pokemon of the Cerulean City Gym appeared with a splash in the water, singing its name.
"Look at Dewgong!" Ash called out. "It's huge!"
Misty smirked. "Daisy has been working really hard since Seel evolved. She doesn't love being a Gym Leader like I do, but she's definitely proven herself."
"Charmander, let's do this!" Nick called, tossing the Pokeball at one of the floating platforms. The other oversized Pokemon appeared, hands on hips, staring up at the Dewgong on the opposite platform with narrowed eyes.
"No messing around now," Daisy said. "Dewgong, use Aurora Beam!"
"Charmander, Smoke Screen!" Nick called.
As Dewgong released the icy light energy at Charmander, the said Pokemon breathed out a dark haze, cloaking itself and most of the battle field.
Clemont shook his head. "She really knows how to use her Pokemon's moves to her advantage. She might just win despite the type disadvantage."
"Now, who else do we know that sounds like that?" Misty asked, nudging Ash.
Ash gave a half smile and rubbed the back of his head.
"Now use Body Slam!" Nick called.
"Dive, Dewgong!" Daisy called.
But by the time the attack was called, Charmander had collided into the Dewgong, sending him careening into the platform Daisy stood on. When the Pokemon recovered, he shook his head and dove below the surface.
"I wonder what the plan is from here," Misty asked.
Ash shrugged. "I'm not giving away her secrets."
Nick called to Charmander, "Hold it."
The three trainers in the stands exchanged glances.
Dewgong appeared out of the water just in front of Charmander with a wave of water in his wake.
"Now, Charmander! Dragon Rage!"
The much smaller orange Pokemon puffed out its chest and released its own wave of blue but fiery energy straight into the Dewgong. The water steamed, sending smoke in all directions.
Everyone had to shield their eyes before drawing their attention back to the field.
Charmander was wet, but Dewgong was also at least stunned. The first of the two was panting, however, having the clear type disadvantage.
He threw back his head and let out as intimidating of a roar as he could muster, "Chaar…mander…!"
Charmander became encased in blue light and his outline began to grow and shift.
Nick lowered her hand, her eyes blown wide. "Oh my god…."
"No freakin' way!" Misty yelled, her hand to her forehead, and all three of the trainers in the stands came straight to their feet.
In the blue light, the outline of Charmander grew to its full height, standing at nearly the same size as Nick – which wasn't very tall – but was much more than the average for the Pokemon species. Its claws extended, tail lengthened, and fire seemed to grow bigger and brighter from the back. An extension appeared out the back of his head, and the blue light blew off of him in a burst of energy.
Charmeleon stood before them, grinning with determination.
"Finally, something she didn't actually have planned out to surprise us," Clemont said.
"You can't predict evolving," Ash said. "It's only when they Pokemon and trainer are strong enough together that it can happen."
"But Pokemon evolve in the wild, dunderhead," Misty said, flicking his ear.
"Okay yeah, but you know what I mean," he said, rubbing his ear.
"Don't let that evolution throw you off!" Daisy called. "Dewgong, use Headbutt!"
"Charmeleon, Body Slam!" Nick yelled back.
The two collided in the air, landing on a platform, neither Pokemon budging.
"Scratch, Charmeleon!" Nick called.
"Ice Beam, Dewgong!" Daisy called.
As the Dewgong drew back its head, Charmeleon had its claw glowing and extending much faster and aimed straight for the face to stop the Ice Beam in its tracks.
Dewgong recoiled back and fell into the water behind it. Charmeleon scanned the water's edge, waiting.
"Dewgong, Dive!" Daisy commanded.
"Charmelon, Smoke Screen!" Nick called out.
The Dewgong rose up on a wave of water just as Charmeleon had released the fog from its mouth, cloaking itself once again.
"Dragon Rage!" Nick called.
Charmelon came flying out of the black smog and launched its blue fiery attack straight at Dewgong, sending it careening back into the water once again.
Nick and Charmeleon waited.
Dewgong floated to the top of the water, belly-up.
"Dewgong is unable to battle! And the match goes to Charmeleon, giving Nick the win!"
Nick squealed and held out her arms to Charmeleon. The Flame Pokemon turned to her and beamed at the sight, jumping up to her and hugging her at nearly the same height.
"Another unlikely win by the newbie," Misty said, standing up and shaking her head.
"She isn't a newbie," Ash said, "that's for sure. I can only imagine what she'll be like with more hands-on experience like this."
"Trip!" Iris practically yelped when she unlocked the Gym doors.
The trainer in question barely muttered a hello as he pushed his way inside. Cilan eyed him warily. The younger boy's hair was disheveled, his jacket not quite sitting right on his shoulders, and he looked like he hadn't slept. He didn't even question why Cilan was there, which came as a surprise to him.
"What are you doing here?" Cilan asked, trying to get his attention.
Trip stopped pacing long enough to open his mouth as if to snap at Cilan but then seemed to think better of it. He paused and then sighed. "I'm not the only one that knows something weird is going on here, right?"
"Nice to see you, too, Trip," Iris said, drawing out the words.
Cilan patted Iris' shoulder. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"The memory! The time! Everything!" Trip scrambled to get his camera out of his backpack. "Look," he said, holding it out for both of them to see. The three gathered around the camera. "I was out training when this happened." He scrolled through pictures of his Chandelure. He paused at one of the pictures, the screen seemingly blurred. Then he went to the next few pictures, all of them looking normal.
"So you took a shitty picture," Iris said.
Trip glared at her. "No, dumbass," he snapped. Iris was ready to draw back a fist when Cilan grabbed her wrist and eyed her. "All of this happened at the exact same time." He pointed to the time on the picture, 1:32 a.m.
Iris snorted. "So you took a shitty picture at 1:30?" she said with a smirk.
"Just listen to me!" he snapped again, only louder this time. "Look!" he pointed at the time. "At exactly 1:32, not just city, or the region… but the whole world blacked out for a minute."
He walked over the couch and table in the lobby area of the Gym and sat down. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a laptop. He starting searching for that exact time. All news, social media, contests, battles… everything seemed to lose a minute of time across the world.
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Cilan asked, hesitantly.
"I'm suggesting that something important happened at that time. But aside from losing a minute of time, we're the only ones that seemed to gain something." Trip said. He tore his eyes away from the computer to look at Iris. "When was the last time you saw Cilan… or even thought of him before today?"
Iris went to retort but closed her mouth. "That's… not your-"
"Cilan?" he said, turning to him.
He breathed out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Trip is right, Iris. We hadn't even remembered about talking to each other… for months… years."
Iris balled her fists. "You can't tell me that I didn't remember you!" she yelled. "Of course I did!"
Cilan took a step toward her and put his hands on her shoulders as she looked down, her face shadowed by her big hair. "Iris…." he said, his voice grave. "We didn't. Neither of us did. It's no one's fault."
She looked up at him, tears staining her face. Her voice was shaky when she spoke, "How could we not remember?"
"It's because of Ash."
The moment between the two seemed to shatter as the both spun on Trip.
"What are you talking about?" Iris said, brushing the tears from her eyes. "I didn't remember him either… or you, for that matter." Then she mumbled, "Maybe I would've been better off."
Cilan glared at her before turning back to Trip. "What are you saying then?"
"I'm saying that we seem to be the only people affected by the memories. Everyone else seemed to not really care. Look at this," he said, pulling up the search bar again. This time he searched for names.
He searched for all of Ash's companions, ones they'd met, ones they hadn't. All of them had seemed to have their own lives in recent years, but since the time of the blackout, they started to come together slowly.
"Dawn just won the Sinnoh Grand Festival with Paul, May, and Drew all there. Last I checked, she had never met Drew, and only May once. Now all of a sudden they seem to remember being buddies over the years. You two don't remember why you didn't contact each other. Clemont just went to Kanto with Tracy for research. And I'm willing to bet any amount of money that Ash is traveling with Misty again. And none of us should know about her. Ash never introduced us," he started to count off his fingers, "he never mentioned her, she never visited, and didn't even take out his so-called 'special Misty lure' when we competed in the fishing competition. You tell me how this is all a coincidence."
Iris and Cilan at each other once again. "You were stalking them?" Iris asked.
"Idiot!" Trip yelled. "They're all connected to Ash! Whether they were direct rivals or people he traveled with, they're all suddenly converging. I met up with Georgia earlier this week, that's the only reason I'm just getting here now. But she wasn't affected because she barely had a real connection to Ash. She seems to be going about her life as normal."
"So what do you say we do about this?" Cilan asked.
"I think we all have to ask Ash that question." Trip said.
Iris' phone in the kitchen started ringing, cutting the tension in the room like a knife.
The two boys looked to Iris, and she rolled her eyes. "Guys, it's a phone. I'm gonna go get that."
She scurried out of the room, relieved to be done with the hostility for the time being. When she sat in front of the video camera and the screen lit with Ash's face, she nearly fell out of the chair. "Guys! You're gonna want to get in here!"
[A/N 2-9-18]: Look who's starting to put things together!
Thank you for your patience in sticking with the story! I hope this chapter got you excited for more! It was a doozy to write but I'm really happy with how it came out!
To answer some questions I know I'm likely to get:
No, the subplots are not in chronological order, and yes, they are supposed to be a little difficult to follow the timeline.
If you want to chat with me more about the story, please feel free to send me an ask trainernick on Tumblr!