Misty groaned as she woke up, raising her hand to shield against the bright light that burned her eyes. Slowly but surely, her vision came back to clarity, revealing the pristine white walls of what looked like a hospital room.

"Wha… where am I?" the redhead asked, confusion clouding her mind as she attempted to sit up in her bed, once again groaning as her head began to spin once again. "Gah, my head… what happened?"

"I can answer that one for you, sweetie," a kind voice offered, drawing Misty's attention to the pink-haired nurse as she walked in. "It's nice to see you again Misty, though I wish the circumstances were a little different, I must say."

Misty blinked in shock. "A-Angelica?" she stammered. "But… when did I get to Cerulean City?"

'Angelica' smiled as she picked up the clipboard at the edge of Misty's bed. "Your friends brought you in," she answered simply. "Two young men, rather handsome if I do say so - but a little young for me," she joked, winking at Misty teasingly and sending the redhead into a furious blushing fit. "Anyway, according to them, you hit your head when passing through the Mount Moon caverns and blacked out on the way here. The younger of the two - Ash, was it? He had his Fearow carry you here, came sprinting up only a few seconds later out of breath and panicking like crazy."

Misty blinked dazedly for a moment before reaching up to touch her head tenderly. "I… blacked out?" she asked, struggling to keep up with all the information coming so quickly. "I guess that makes sense… but I felt fine…"

Angelica sighed as she set the clipboard down again. "Unfortunately, most people do feel fine when they suffer a concussion," she explained. "Now you seem fine for the most part, so I'm happy to discharge you after a few small tests if you want to leave, but I should warn you about a few side effects." As she spoke, Angelica sat down at the side of Misty's bed, slowly running the redhead through her tests as she spoke. "You're probably going to be sensitive to light for a while, so I'd recommend wearing some sunglasses during the day. You may also experience sudden bouts of dizziness, or drastic changes in your temper and overall mood - this is all normal, and I've explained to your friends already, but try to be aware of your mood and remember, don't take things out on them." She paused, leaning back to grab the clipboard again and making a few notes. "Some people can suddenly become dazed or dizzy after a concussion too, so be careful around any high ridges or bodies of water. Other than that, I'd say you're free to go. I'll give you some medication for the pain and you should be all clear in a day or so."

Misty nodded along to the instructions, trying to take note of everything she needed to look out for… and silently thanking her luck that Ash had been told of them too, in case she forgot… "Uh, thanks, Angelica…" she muttered unsurely, fidgeting for a moment as the nurse made to leave before speaking up again. "Angelica, wait!"

Angelica paused at the door, glancing back. "Hmm?" she asked curiously.

Misty fidgeted again before taking a breath to calm herself. "You, um… you didn't, by any chance…"

Figuring out what the young redhead was trying to ask, Angelica smiled. "Don't worry, I haven't called anybody," she said, winking conspiratorially. "I've treated you as just another travelling trainer, so nobody but you and your friends even know you were here. Is there anything else?" She waited a beat for Misty to shake her head before chuckling. "Then by all means, you're free to go. It's been a Joy~"

With that last statement, Angelica left the room, leaving Misty to stew in her thoughts even as she chuckled at the nurse's pun. "I guess I should get changed, then…" she mused, glancing at her bag propped up on the chair across the room. "I bet Ash and Brock are worried about me…"

As she stood, making sure to keep herself steady before moving too far from the bead, Misty thought back on everything that had happened. She remembered getting to Mount Moon and meeting the scientist, See-saw… no, wait, that wasn't right… Seebrooke? No… Seymour! That was his name, Seymour. She also remembered the lights in the caverns, and running into Team Rocket, and of course the fight that took place after.

From there, her memory was… splotchy, at best. She remembered a Clefairy, and following it. Then she remembered a battle. She remembered seeing Onix knocked out… and then alot of pretty lights… and not much after that.

"Wow… Angelica wasn't kidding about the memory loss…" Misty muttered as she pulled her shirt on. She paused, however, she sat down to pull her sneakers on. "Wait… Fearow? And Ash… Ash RAN after it?" She blinked. "Just how fast is he…?"

A little over an hour later, Misty stepped out of the Pokemon Center's back door, sliding a pair of cheap sunglasses over her eyes as the bright sun filled her vision. There wasn't much selection in the on-site pharmacy, so she'd just grabbed a pair of gaudy, novelty plastic frames in the vague image of a Krabby, complete with large plastic claws. She sighed deeply, taking a small sip from a water bottle as she stepped out into the public battle area, spotting Ash seemingly sparring with another trainer, a young-looking girl with long, brown hair under a white hat, wearing a red skirt and blue vest-shirt.

"Leaf's Meowth is unable to battle!" Brock called out from the sidelines of the battlefield, acting as the referee. "Ash's Fearow is the victor!"

"Good job, Fearow!" Ash cried out, grinning wide as the large, condor-like Pokemon returned to his side. "Wow, you really got a lot stronger when you evolved!"

"I'm not out of the running yet, Ashy-boy!" the girl named Leaf laughed teasingly, calling her Meowth back to its Pokeball before spinning another on the tip of her finger. "Ready for Round Two?"

"Always!" Ash shot back, and Misty watched in confusion as he recalled Fearow and pulled out another Pokeball. "Go, Clefairy!"

Blinking in confusion, Misty made her way to the center's spectator benches and sat down to watch, even as the girl named Leaf spoke up again. "Never took you for a Fairy Trainer, Ashy-Boy~" she sang, once more in a teasing tone. "But I guess it's fitting. Go, Jigglypuff!"

Misty watched in a mixture of confusion and awe, both impressed that Ash had managed to capture a Clefairy and at his ease at commanding one so quickly, but also wondering just when he had captured it. She certainly didn't remember him catching one in the caves… but then, she was forgetting a lot from that day it seemed.

The redhead blinked, snapping back to the battle at hand as Ash called for his Clefairy to use Metronome, the small pink creature wagging its fingers at Leaf's Jigglypuff before seeming to dash forwards, delivering a number of rapid-fire punches that sent Leaf's Jigglypuff bouncing back to its trainers feet, dazed and clearly out of the running.

"Hey, no fair!" Leaf whined, though the grin on her face told Misty the brunette didn't mean her words. "A luck-of-the-draw Bullet Punch, really? Well you always were the lucky one, Ashy-Boy!"

Ash rolled his eyes as Clefairy skipped back to his side, kneeling down to ruffle the fairy's head in appreciation. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Leaf," he joked. "And hey, I'm not lucky - I just take the risks you guys were never brave enough to try."

"Is that so!?" Leaf shouted. "Well then, how's this for a risk? Your Pikachu against my last Pokemon, and I'll even tell you right now it's my Ivysaur! You down?"

Ash rubbed his chin in thought even as he recalled Clefairy, glancing at his partner. "You up for it, bud?" he asked, grinning as Pikachu simply dashed onto the battlefield. "Yeah, I thought so. Bring it on, Leaf!"

Misty tried to keep her focus on the match, but as the two Pokemon rushed in to battle each other she found her vision spinning and had to put her head in her hands for a moment to avoid the feeling of sickness that washed over her. When eventually she could look up, Leaf was recalling her Ivysaur and Ash was celebrating with Pikachu on his shoulder. She let out a sigh, slowly standing to make her way over.

By the time she reached the battlefield, Ash and Leaf were shaking hands and smiling. She paused as Ash turned to her, giving a small smile and a wave before blinking in surprise as he rushed over to her.

"Misty!" Ash cried, grabbing her hands as he tried to look her over. "Are you okay!? You passed out back there, we were really worried!"

The redhead winced slightly at Ash's volume but gave a smile nonetheless, even as Brock rushed over to join them. "I'm fine now," she said, giving them both a quick hug. "Thanks for your help, guys, I didn't even realise I'd… well, you know," she chuckled, before wincing again.

"Are you sure you're okay, Misty?" Brock asked in concern. "A head injury is nothing to take lightly. If you need more time to rest-"

"Honestly, Brock, I'm fine," Misty cut him off, giving a smile of appreciation. "Nurse Joy warned me I'd get some headaches for the next couple days while my head heals properly. It's why I got these." She paused, pointing at her sunglasses with a chuckle. "Ugly as they are, my eyes are going to be sensitive too."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, she explained all of that to us too," he muttered, before blinking as Leaf coughed awkwardly behind him. "Oh! Sorry, that was rude - Misty, this is Leaf, one of my best friends from back in Pallet Town! Leaf, this is my friend Misty, we're travelling together while I challenge the League."

Leaf smiled and offered a hand to Misty in greeting. "Nice to meet you," she offered as Misty took her hand and shook. "Sorry to hear about your head - Ash filled me in, it's why I challenged him to a battle. The big mook always stewed on stuff like this unless you distracted him."

"Did not!" Ash protested, shrinking in on himself slightly as he caught his volume. "Sorry, Misty," he offered, much quieter.

"It's fine," Misty said with a smile as Leaf tittered to herself, causing Ash to shoot her a glare. "So, what are you planning to do now?"

"Well," Leaf said with a grin. "I'm gonna go ask Nurse Joy to heal up my Pokemon, then I'm heading for Vermilion City. Can't let the others get too far ahead, after all!"

"You already beat the gym here?" Misty asked, clearly impressed. "Wow."

Leaf simply shrugged. "It's a Water-Type Gym. Ivysaur handled it pretty well."

Ash nodded in thought. "I might struggle a little," he mused. "I don't really have anything that's overly effective against Water Types - besides Pikachu of course."

Brock chuckled as he shook his head. "Didn't stop you last time," he pointed out. "He took down my Geodude with a Beedrill, and followed up with Pikachu against Onix." He added at Leaf's confused look. "He's the first trainer in a while to know that Onix's head spine is a very sensitive target."

Ash laughed nervously as Leaf turned to him with wide eyes. "What can I say, I've always been good with Pokémon trivia."

Leaf blinked in surprise for a moment before her teasing smirk came back. "Still can't wrap your head around math though, right?"

"Hey!"

Leaf began laughing, turning and fleeing as Ash began chasing her around the field. Misty and Brock watched on passively before Brock chuckled. "I keep forgetting he's just a beginner," he said.

"I guess," Misty muttered, seemingly lost in thought as she watched the two running around. "Say, Brock? What do you know about Cerulean Gym?"

Brock was silent for a moment as he watched her before looking away, watching Ash. "I know their win/loss ratio changed drastically recently," he answered eventually. "Almost like the main driving force for their battling left."

Misty nodded, remaining quiet as she thought. "Brock?"

"I won't say anything."

Misty nodded. "Thank you," she said, looking up and almost flinching at Brock's stern gaze.

"But you should."

The redhead stared back at the ex-Gym Leader for a moment before swallowing the lump in her throat, nodding again.

That evening, the group sat down for a warm meal in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria. Leaf joined them, having decided to leave for Vermilion City in the morning and regaling Brock and Misty with stories of her childhood in Pallet Town alongside Ash.

"And then they spent the next three days arguing over who got to keep the darn thing!" Leaf exclaimed, inciting another round of laughter from the table at Ash's expense, even if he was chuckling along. "Seriously, it must have been the rustiest looking Pokeball I'd ever seen, and they just couldn't let the darn thing go!"

"So what happened?" Misty asked.

Ash smiled as he leaned forward on the table. "In the end, it broke in half. Gary took one half of it and I took the other." He paused, shrugging as he reached into his shirt and pulled out half of a rusted Pokeball, suspended from a chain with the edges sanded smooth. "Still have it - my mom made it into a pendant for me. It's a bit of a good luck charm."

Leaf smiled. "Gary still has his, too," she revealed. "He keeps it in the glove compartment of his car, told me when I bumped into him the other day."

Brock frowned slightly. "His car?" He asked.

Ash sighed. "A bright red, 1965 Mustang convertible. It was his dad's, always said he'd drive it when he went on his journey."

Misty frowned in confusion. "But wouldn't he be too young to drive?"

Ash blinked at the two for a moment before glancing at Leaf, who just shrugged. "How old do you guys think we are?" He asked. At Brock and Misty's perplexed expressions, he let out a sigh. "Gary and I are both sixteen. He's got his license already. Leaf's fifteen, but she's super smart so she got fast-tracked to join me and Gary."

"And Damien," Leaf said, nudging Ash to remind him.

Ash frowned. "The less said about Damien Cross, the better," he muttered darkly, surprising Brock and Misty.

Leaf sighed. "Damien was the old bully at our school," she pointed out. "He was refused a Pokémon at first, so he got one with our group instead. Though I'm not convinced he actually 'revised his attitude' like Professor Oak told him to."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, more like he pretended and faked it to get what he wanted, just like always."

Brock glanced between the two for a moment before speaking. "So this… Damien. He's seventeen?"

Leaf nodded. "That's right."

Brock sat back, tapping his chin in thought. "And he has… blue hair? Training a Charmander?"

Ash frowned. "Where are you going with this, Brock?"

Brock sighed. "I reported him to the authorities for Pokémon cruelty," he said simply. "He was needlessly harsh to his Pokémon, beyond just a demanding trainer. He knew full well what he was doing sending his Charmander out against my Onix."

Leaf sighed as Ash's fist tightened. "Yeah, that sounds like Damien all right," the girl muttered. "Anyway! Enough of the gloomy stuff. Has Ash told you about Professor Oak's summer camps?"

As Misty and Brock shook their heads in the negative, Ash smiled softly.

"Well he nearly missed the first one cause he broke his alarm clock!" Leaf laughed. "He was lucky I went and grabbed him on my way there, though he was rushing so much he nearly went in his pyjamas-"

"Okay, enough of that story!" Ash cried desperately as the table burst into laughter.

The next morning, having bid a fond farewell to Leaf as the girl set off to continue her own journey, Ash rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Cerulean Gym, here we come!" he declared, turning away from the Pokémon Center and marching in the direction of the Gym.

Misty blinked in surprise, staring owlishly until Brock cleared his throat, giving her a pointed look. She nodded, hurrying slightly to catch up to Ash as she called out to him. "Um, Ash?" She began as she came level with the hopeful trainer. "I-I need to tell you something before-"

"I already know," Ash said simply, cutting her off with a calm smile. "Misty Waterflower. The fourth and youngest of Cerulean's Sensational Sisters, you left the gym to pursue your own path as a Water Pokémon specialist."

Misty started in shock at Ash even as Brock caught up to them, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. "How'd you know!?" Misty demanded.

Ash smirked and reached over his shoulder, grabbing a magazine from his backpack. "Kanto Digest," he replied with a laugh as Misty groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Your sisters are pretty popular as swimsuit models, and in their last interview somebody asked about you. All they said was you were following your own path and they were proud."

Blinking slowly, Misty found her throat tighten slightly as her cheeks felt wet. "Really?" She asked in amazement. "They… they're proud?"

Ash smiled and nodded. "I think you should challenge them too," he suggested, much to Brock and Misty's surprise. "And Brock too, actually. If you show up with a Badge and challenge them for theirs, they won't think you're coming back to give up."

Brock frowned slightly. "Why would they think that anyway?" He asked, and Misty nodded in agreement, also curious.

Ash simply held up the magazine again before flipping to the page in question. "When asked about her youngest sister Misty, Daisy the Delightful had this to say," he began, reading from the passage. "Misty is our youngest sister, and we love her dearly. When she decided to leave, claiming not to return until she could surpass us all, we were very proud of her. If Misty can see this, we'd like to wish her the best of luck in her journeys and we hope to see her again when she returns home a success." He paused, rolling up the magazine to shove it in his pocket. "Now this might just be me, since I don't know them, but that sounds like a very professional way to say 'Misty won't come back until she's a master Water Type trainer or she fails'."

Misty sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like Daisy…" she muttered. When Brock turned back to the Pokémon Center, she watched him in confusion.

"Are you coming then?" Brock asked casually. "I have a couple Boulder Badges on me."

Misty smiled, glancing at Ash who just smiled and shrugged. "The gym can wait an hour or two," he said simply.

Misty smiled proudly to herself as she polished the Boulder Badge she had pinned to her bag. She didn't even react as the automatic doors to the Cerulean Gym slid open, allowing Ash to lead the trio of trainers in. When they approached the reception desk and found it empty, the redhead couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Let me guess," Brock chuckled. "Your old job?"

Misty just sighed. "As well as janitor, aquarium keeper, finance manager… whatever actually counted as work, really. All they were really interested in was their modelling."

"They still take challenges though, right?" Ash asked worriedly, looking around at the few walls of the lobby that weren't taken up by aquarium glass. Every surface held a poster of some kind advertising the 'Sensational Cerulean Water Ballet'.

Misty smirked to herself. "They can't NOT take challenges," she pointed out with a giggle. "I looked into it before, if a Gym Leader refuses a challenge without due reason, they risk having the Gym's license revoked by the League."

Brock nodded along sagely. "It's why I took the position when my father left," he pointed out. "I'd rather do the job myself than let the gym get shut down."

"Makes sense," Ash muttered as he looked around, wondering how he could issue his challenge. He blinked as Misty casually stepped around the desk and took a seat.

"Something tells me they haven't cleaned my stuff out yet," she mused, pulling open a drawer and rummaging around. "If there's no new receptionist then they were hoping I'd come back and do it myself. Here it is!"

Smiling triumphantly, Misty pulled a small device out of the drawer, looking not unlike a pen with a large blue button on one end. With a press of said button, a chime rang through the gym.

"Pokédex," Misty said simply, holding her hand out to Ash as she logged in to the computer behind the desk. Not two minutes later she handed the device back, having registered both Ash's challenge and her own before logging out. "Well, that's the official stuff done. The battlefield is this way - my sisters should already be there."

"How do you know that?" Ash asked as he and Brock followed the redhead down the corridors, aquarium windows on all sides broken up by posters and advertisements for more water ballet shows on support pillars.

"That button," Misty replied easily. "It sends a signal to their bracelets that there's a challenger here. Either you get a free seat for the water ballet to watch while you wait or they meet you on the battlefield immediately."

"Huh," Brock mused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Useful…"

As they approached a set of double doors painted to look like crashing waves, Misty paused. "Brock, could you officiate?" The redhead asked. "I have a feeling they haven't found a new referee either."

"Your job again?" Brock questioned, sighing as Misty nodded in response. "Sure, if that's okay with them I can do it."

With that decision made, the trio stepped through the doors into what looked for all purposes to be an Olympic-sized swimming pool, complete with three-tiered diving boards on the far side. Brightly coloured pontoons floated in the water's surface, providing footholds for any non-aquatic or airborn battlers. Three figures stood on the diving boards across the room from the trio, one to each tier.

The first, on the lowest board, had long blue hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. She wore an emerald-green swimsuit that hugged her figure flatteringly without showing off what could be considered 'too much skin', leaving her slender legs free. "Welcome to the Cerulean City Gym!" She called out dramatically.

The second figure, with rosy pink hair cut to mid-length so it framed her face as it fell over her shoulders and wearing a similar swimsuit in amber-orange, waved her arm in a wide arc downwards, almost as if to bring attention to her wide hips. "We are the Sensational Cerulean Sisters!" She added, following after the first.

The final of the three, with long, curled blonde hair, struck a pose upon the highest diving board with her arms up behind her head, pushing her chest forwards and showing off her crimson swimsuit that showed a considerable amount more skin than her sisters. "You have challenged our beauty and poise, and we accept!"

Without even glancing behind her, Misty reached back to gently push Brock's jaw back up and close his mouth.

Ash crossed his arms, unimpressed, as the three figures dove from their different positions, carefully timing their jumps so that they hit the water as one. He watched with bored disinterest as they breached the water's surface and pulled themselves onto one of the pontoons, posing themselves to show off their bodies.

Ash yawned.

Struggling to suppress her laughter, Misty stepped forward. "Violet, Lily, Daisy," she greeted her sisters in turn, giving them each a nod. At their shocked faces, she smirked. "Surprised to see me back so soon, I guess?"

"A little," the bluenette spoke up, the one Ash guessed was Violet.

"Though we should have expected you to come crawling back," the pink-haired sister drawled. Ash decided that one was Lily.

To Ash's surprise, the blonde sister stood up on the pontoon and smacked her siblings upside the head. "What have I told you two about bullying her!?" She snapped, and as Ash noticed the hair tie of the white-petal flower behind her ear, he decided that was Daisy. "Welcome home Misty. Are you staying?"

Misty smiled softly as she shook her head. "Nope. Did you notice there were two challenges today?"

Blinking, the three sisters looked to the matching bracelets they wore before Daisy chuckled. "I see," she mused as Violet and Lily stood up. "Well then. Who's going to be battling first?"

Ash smiled as he stepped back, gesturing dramatically. "Ladies first~" he teased, winking at Misty as she glared at him.

"Nice boyfriend you've got there," Violet called, a purr in her voice as she gently bit her index finger. "He got a name?"

Ash's face fell completely neutral as Misty flustered, the young man turning to Violet blankly. "Ash Ketchum, we're not dating, and I'm not interested in you," he said flatly, smirking at the bluenette's shocked expression.

"Now now," Daisy called, smiling despite her sister's enraged expression. "Let's save the fighting for the actual challenge." She paused, turning to look at Misty curiously. "So which of us would you like to challenge, Misty?"

As she looked over her three elder sisters, Misty locked eyes with the one who had tormented her the most in her younger years and clenched her fist in determination. "I'll battle Lily."

Smirking, Lily placed a hand on her hip as she produced one of her Pokeballs from a leg-band. "You really think you've got what it takes to take me on?" She asked scathingly, stepping into the middle of the pontoon as Daisy and Violet dove into the water and swam away, quickly climbing out of the far end of the pool.

"More than enough," Misty shot back, pulling her own Pokeball as she glanced to Brock, who had stepped up to the referee podium. With a nod from Daisy, he picked up the white flag beneath the podium and held it up.

"This Cerulean Gym Challenge between Leader Lily Waterflower and Challenger Misty Waterflower will now begin!" He called. "Standard League rules apply! Two Pokémon, a Recall counts as a Forfeit, first to gain two knockouts wins! Understood?" Brock paused, waiting for the two trainers to nod in understanding before waving the flag. "BEGIN!"

From both sides of the battlefields, a flash preceding a splash could be heard. "GOLDEEN!"

Lily paused and blinked owlishly. "You sent out a Goldeen too?" She asked in confusion.

Misty smirked. "Just to prove I've trained mine better," she taunted.

Grinding her teeth, Lily threw her hand forward. "Goldeen, go! Quick Attack!"

"Agility!" Misty ordered just as quickly, and Lily watched in surprise as Misty's Goldeen dashed out of the way of her own Pokemon's attack beneath the water. "I told you I trained my Goldeen better~" Misty purred. "Go, Horn Attack!"

Before she could react, Lily's Goldeen was driven out of the water and into the air above her head, an angry red mark on its underside where Misty's Pokémon had driven it's horn into the unsuspecting koi fish.

"Now, Waterfall!"

Lily could only blink in surprise as the water surged upwards from the pool, soaking her from head to toe as the force pushed her Goldeen into the roof of the building before letting it drop limply into the water. Almost numbly, Lily recalled her Pokemon.

"How's that for better training!" Misty taunted, grinning widely.

Lily ground her teeth in frustration as she pulled a second Pokeball out. "You got lucky," she growled out. "That won't happen again. Go, Cloyster!"

Lily launched her Pokeball into the water, where it burst open in a flash of light before returning to her hand automatically. Beneath the pool's surface, a dark shape began moving.

"Stay sharp Goldeen!" Misty called out. "Use Agility again!"

"That won't help you this time," Lily taunted, a sadistic grin on her face. "Cloyster, Spike Cannon!"

With a surging splash, Lily's Pokémon leapt from the water into the air above the battlefield. The large, lilac-shelled oyster Pokémon held a grin on it's black, pearl-like face that matched it's trainer's as it unleashed a barrage of sharp spines into the water below, peppering the battlefield with projectiles. Misty watched with bated breath as the water churned angrily from the vast number of high-speed projectiles, creating a cloud of foam that obscured her vision.

After a tense moment, wherein Lily's Cloyster dropped heavily to land on the pontoon with its trainer, Misty let out a gasp as her Goldeen rose to the surface of the slowly calming pool, belly-up and dazed beyond reason.

"Misty's Goldeen is unable to battle!" Brock called out from the sidelines, raising a white flag towards Misty as the redhead recalled her Pokemon. "The match is now one-all, next knockout wins!"

Misty clenched her fist in determination, quickly swapping her Pokeball for another before tossing her second Pokemon out into the battle. "Starmie, go!"

With a familiar flash of light, the lavender starfish-Pokemon appeared upon a vacant pontoon, letting out a defiant cry of "HYA!" as the large red gem in the center of its body flashed.

"Bring it on, baby sis~!" Lily taunted readily, her Cloyster rolling itself back into the water ready for battle. As Misty's Starmie followed suit, the battle soon picked up pace, the waters churning and foaming until all that could be seen was the crashing waves that spilled water over the edges of the pool.

"What's happening?" Ash asked quietly, leaning over to whisper to Daisy, who had placed herself in the seat next to him.

Daisy smiled calmly. "Silent battle," she explained calmly, nodding to where Misty and Lily were both staring intently into the waters. "A test of the bond between Trainer and Pokemon - neither of them will say anything until the victor emerges."

"Interesting…" Ash muttered as he sat forward, watching the pool intently.

To the eyes of everyone else in the room, the only sign of battle was the churning pool waters and the trainers stood at either end. To Ash, however, if he really focused, he felt he could just make out the shapes of the Pokemon under the surface, hearing their voices as they clashed beneath the obscuring layer of waterfoam they created.

Ash watched intently as, known only to him, Starmie deflected another Spike Cannon barrage with its own Rapid Spin, propelling itself forward into Cloyster's shell and knocking it away to crash into the edge of the pool.

Silence fell as the waters settled within the pool, both trainers watching with bated breath. Those in the stands sat on the edge of their seats to see the results.

Brock knelt down on his podium, trying to get a better view of the Pokémon in the pool… only to leap back as Cloyster flew out of the water, landing heavily on Lily's pontoon.

"Ha!" the pink-haired sister proclaimed, hands on her hips in triumph. "Take that, Misty!"

Misty simply stared at her sister as Starmie leapt from the water to land next to her, clearly tired but nonetheless standing. Cloyster, however, hadn't moved yet.

"Wait…" Lily muttered, kneeling down to roll her Pokémon over and gasping at it's dazed expression. "No…"

Brock held up a green flag in Misty's direction. "Lily's Cloyster is unable to battle!" He declared as the pink-haired Gym Leader dejectedly recalled her Pokémon. "Challenger Misty is the winner!"

Misty was silent for a moment, clearly shocked despite her display of confidence prior. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Ash rushed out of the stands, sweeping her off her feet to swing her around in victory.

"You did it Misty!" he cried out, grinning ear to ear, something Misty quickly found herself mirroring.

"I… I did it," Misty muttered, before quickly being overrun by giddy giggles. "I did it! I won!"

Ash and Misty continued their impromptu celebration, laughing as Ash spun her around in joy, before coming to a stop as Misty's eldest sister interrupted them with a good-natured smile.

"Excellent work, Misty," Daisy praised, clapping her hands twice. The sound of a door opening came from the pool before a number of Water Pokémon appeared from the waters, each one cheering in their own way. "Everyone's so proud of you."

Ash set Misty down as the redhead's eyes grew wet with tears. "Aww, thank you everyone…" she said in a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment. "I didn't realise you were all watching…"

"Of course they were," Violet chuckled. "They've missed you as much as we have, Misty." She paused, elbowing Lily as she stepped up to the group. "Right, sis?"

Lily just rolled her eyes. "Pfft, whatever," she muttered before flashing Misty a grin. "You got lucky."

Misty wiped her eyes clear before smirking at her sister. "Really? Care to go again and we'll test that?"

Before the two could get any further, Daisy stepped between them. "There'll be time enough for that another day," she said calmly. "For now, I believe you owe your sister something, Lily?"

"A punch in the mouth?" Lily offered hopefully, wilting slightly under Daisy's disapproving glare. "Fine, fine… I was just joking anyway… Seel!"

A moment after Lily barked it's name, a small, white-coloured seal Pokémon poked its head out of the water. Seeing Misty, it gave a big, goofy-looking smile and stuck its tongue out, revealing a small black cushion with a badge in the shape of a blue water droplet pinned to it.

Misty smiled as she knelt down, reaching to pet Seel's head before taking her badge. "Thank you," she said gratefully, letting the Pokémon sink back into the water before turning to her sisters. "And thank you too, Lily. That was a great battle."

"Yeah yeah,"Lily sighed, rolling her eyes before a grin split her face again. "It wasn't bad. You're getting good, squirt."

"Says the short one," Misty teased, laughing as she turned and ran from Lily trying to chase her down.

Daisy watched them both with a smile on her face before turning to Ash. "I believe it's your turn, young man."

Ash grinned as Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder, ready and raring to go. "Ash, nice to meet you properly," he said, holding his hand out.

Daisy took the hand and shook it firmly. "Mind if I take you on myself?" She asked courteously. "I want to see something for myself."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."