"Quick attack!" Riolu's speed couldn't be beaten by the Hitmonchan it was battling.

"Focus Punch!" The other trainer, Ellen, shouted to her fighting Pokemon.

"Dodge quick!" Riolu dived out of the way and started sprinting towards Hitmonchan. "Riolu wait!" Ashordered.

Riolu leaped into the air and went to punch its opponent.

"Dodge and focus punch!"

Hitmonchan sidestepped and pounded Riolu out of the air.

"Rio..." Riolu complained, passing out.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Hitmonchan wins." Misty declared.

Ash ran to Riolu and scooped it up, "You gotta trust me buddy." Ash said softly, "But you did really well. I'm so proud of you."

Ash returned Riolu and went back to his spot.

"Elekid, come out!"

"Be careful Hitmonchan." Ellen called.

"Mon'Chan."

"Battle!" Misty shouted.

"Thunder wave!"

"Dodge!"

As the two Pokemon duked it out for supremacy, there was a curious person watching from afar. One who knew the boy in the hat.

"Alright Elekid, let's wrap this up." Ash said confidently, "Thunder shock. GO!"

"KID!" Elekid screamed, unleashing its full power.

Hitmonchan fell over and was defeated.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, Elekid and Ash win the match!" Misty declared, raising her hand to signal that Ash had won.

"Elekid! Elekid! Elekid! Elekid!" Elekid cheered as Ash spun him around and started dancing in victory.

"Still a kid sometimes." Misty shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Great job Hitmonchan." Ellen said, returning her Pokemon. "Have you guys considered going to the P1 Grand Prix?"

"Is that this time of year?" Misty asked.

Ellen nodded, Ash and Elekid were still dancing around by this point.

"Maybe after Ash challenges Erika Celadon City we'll see it. But the only fighting type Ash has is Riolu, and he's just a baby."

"Ash or Riolu?"

The two ladies looked at the dancing trainer and laughed.

Then Elekid started to glow.

"It's..." Ash began.

"...evolving." Misty finished, just as perplexed.

"Electabuzz!"

Ash's eyes went wide and he tackled his newly evolved Pokemon with a giant bear hug.

"This is gonna be so great! Now we can't lose!" Ash spouted a bunch of other encouraging things for the rest of the evening, at least until Ellen took off on her own path.

"You should consider entering Electabuzz in the Grand Prix." She told him, "His fighting type moves make him eligible."

Ash promised he'd consider it and waived goodbye.

"Well she was nice." Ash said, cleaning up the dishes from dinner with Dewgong's help.

Riolu was running away from Growlithe, who was chasing it while barking happily.

"She told me she thought you were cute." Misty told him, not looking up from the table cloth she was folding.

"She did?" He asked nonplussed, "Why would she say that?"

Misty scoffed, "Because that's what people do when they're attracted to someone."

"They do?" Ash asked, turning around to look at Misty.

"It's a start." Misty informed him.

Ash tried to play nonchalant, "What else do people do when they like someone?"

"Like? Like, like-like?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"Um... different people do different things."

"Like what?" Ash asked, knowing Pokemon reasonably well but absolutely nothing about girls.

"Girls flirt, boys flirt... but not exactly like Brock. More like..."

"That one guy from the Johto region?" Ash offered.

"Rudy? He almost kicked your butt."

"Hey I beat him twice." Ash countered.

"Only because the second time I was yelling at you." Misty replied.

"I do seem to do better with you yelling at me."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Riolu!" Riolu climbed onto Misty and pawed at Growlithe, who barked playfully and wagged his tail. "Rio!"

"Growlithe!"

"Growlithe, you have to let Riolu chase you too." Ash told him, patting him on the head.

"Pika pi." Pikachu agreed, shaking off the water from his bath.

Growlithe barked and sprinted off with Riolu close behind him.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"What is it buddy?"

Pikachu's ears had perked up and its ears were sparking.

"Long time no see." A voice said, walking towards Ash, Misty, and their Pokemon.

"Anthony?" Ash asked.

"It's good to see you Ash." Anthony affirmed, smiling.

"Wow, I can't believe." Ash said, running up to him and shaking his hand. "I haven't seen you in years."

"Well, I've been busy training Primeape. You haven't called in a couple months Ash."

Ash scratched his head, "I've been meaning to visit. Is Primeape with you?" Ash asked.

"Unfortunately, he's back home. But I had some business down in Vermillion City and was just heading back when I came across your battle earlier. I had to run Hitmonchan to the Pokemon Center before I said hello though."

"How's Hitmonchan?" Misty asked.

"Still punching and fighting. He's won two of the past five years Grand Prix's. Primeape, two of his own."

"Sounds like you trained him really well." Ash said excitedly.

"It takes a special kind of trainer to train fighting types. But making the commitment to one is the hardest part. And you did that before you left."

"We were hoping to come visit Primeape after Ash challenges Erika in Celadon City." Misty told Anthony.

"Celadon? Oh, Erika's been on vacation for the past few months. Her Vileplume was sick so she took time off for it to heal out in a far away region." Anthony explained, "But there's another gym out in the desert nearby. I know a shortcut that skims right around Celadon and leads right to Dark City."

Ash and Misty's mouths dropped, "Dark City?"

Anthony nodded, "A few years ago there were two unofficial Pokemon gyms there. According to my dear friend, Nurse Joy, the two became one and are now an official gym. Home of the Dark Badge."

"A Dark Badge?" Ash wondered, "The last time I met those guys, they weren't exactly nice."

Misty nodded, "They were practically trying to kill us and each other."

Anthony shrugged, "Just an offer."

"I'll take it." Ash decided, "If there's a badge to be won, I'm there. What do you say guys?" Ash asked.

Riolu and Growlithe were far too busy playing around the tree while Electabuzz had gone to its Pokeball early after a hard-won battle.

Dewgong was napping in the small stream while Pidgeot was nestled up next to the empty firepit.

Pikachu agreed though.

"Works for me." Ash said, letting Pikachu jump onto his shoulder. "And this time I'll be able to use in the gym match. Yas and Kaz won't stand a chance."

"Pi Pika Chu!"

"It's not like they were that competent of trainers to begin with." Misty pointed out.

"Then I'll have Piakchu soften them up, and let Riolu finish it up. He needs the experience and loves to battle.

At the word battle Riolu sprinted over to Ash and leaped onto his head, shouting its name at Anthony like he was trying to pick a fight with the young Pokemon.

"Easy there little guy. I'm not looking to battle." Anthony said, patting Riolu on the head.

"Rio!" Riolu shouted in reply (kind of like a 'let me know, if you change your mind'), jumping off Ash's head and running towards Growlithe, who'd climbed the tree to hide from Riolu.

"How about you join us for the night and we go to Dark City in the morning?" Misty offered.

"Sounds great." Anthony accepted, pulling out his sleeping bag and setting himself up.

Ash and Misty finished their chores and and started a small fire.

While Ash was off with Pikachu, getting firewood, Anthony and Misty made small talk.

"Normally when I meet trainers of the opposite sex, they sleep farther away from each other." Anthony pointed out, nodding towards Misty's sleeping bag, which Ash had placed his own closer too than he normally did.

"We normally do. But he normally rolls it out first because Riolu needs to nap every six or seven hours." Misty explained.

"So he hasn't asked you out yet?"

Misty's eyes went wide.

"Your secret's safe with me." Anthony promised, "Just don't keep something like love bottled up inside you for too long... it'll make you sick Misty."

"Love?" Misty repeated.

"Ha." Anthony laughed, "I remember when I met my wife. I was just a kid training for a competition with Tyrogue. I tried showing off and ended up crashing her bike, utterly destroying it. But in time she came to forgive me."

"I wonder what that's like." Misty said sarcastically, but Anthony didn't seem to notice.

"Then one day she moved. I did my best to keep moving on... but I felt like I just needed her back. Then I saw her again and I told her how I felt."

"Now I really don't know how that feels." Misty replied.

"Haha." Anthony laughed, "Ash is a good kid with a good heart, Misty. He may not know it, but he's lucky to have you."

"That he definitely doesn't know." Misty laughed, "I just wish he'd talk to me about how he feels... just so I'd know if I was wasting my time."

"Love is never a waste of time, Misty." Anthony told her, "But let me let you in on a little secret: can you do anything a boy can do?"

"Of course I can." She said defensively, "I..."

Anthony put his hands up defensively to calm her down, "Then why can't you tell him how you feel first?"

He got her on that point.

"Watcha guys talking about?" Ash asked, dumping the wood next to the picnic table and going to check on Riolu and Growlithe, who were still playing.

"Oh nothing." Misty said quickly, going to organize the woodpile Ash left behind.

"Riolu, Growlithe!" Ash called from the bottom of the tree, "It's time to turn in guys!"

"Growlithe." Growlithe jumped down and accidentally tackled Ash.

"Ow... it's okay buddy." Growlithe was licking his face because he felt bad. "Riolu?"

"Rio?" Riolu poked his head out on the wrong side of the tree, looking for its trainer and friend.

The wind started picking up, Ash began to notice that the current seemed to be running stronger.

Then the branch cracked.

"RIO!"

"RIOLU!" Ash shouted, diving into the water and swimming downstream towards Riolu, who could not swim.

Ash made it there quickly and managed to grab onto a boulder in the middle of the river.

"ASH!" Misty shouted, running down the edge of the water. "Hold on!" She shouted, grabbing a Pokeball from her bag.

"Dewgong-gong!" Ash's Dewgong was already there by the time Misty managed to release her own Dewgong.

Dewgong dropped Ash at the edge of the river and climbed to the shore.

"Thanks buddy." Ash said, patting Dewgong on the head and inspecting Riolu. "Are you okay?"

"Rio." Riolu complained, nuzzling its face into Ash's chest and soaking wet t-shirt.

"Hey, it's okay." Ash said softly, "It was an accident."

After Riolu calmed down, everyone went back to the fire and tried to get some sleep.

Ash lay awake, staring at the stars and thinking about Misty and all they'd been through together.

It took him back to a talk he'd had with Max, many moons ago.

"A good friend left me once... and I miss her everyday.

Ash thought back to that conversation a thousand times. He didn't tell Max it was about Misty, but he didn't feel the need too. He just wanted his friend to feel better about saying goodbye.

Riolu was curled up with Growlithe, so Ash snuck out of his bag and went for a walk.

He took a deep breath and enjoyed the tranquility of the breeze for a moment, turning his thoughts onto the gym battle waiting for him in Dark City.

'Scyther's probably evolved into Scizor by now.' Ash thought to himself, 'I'll have to be smart to out think it. And Electabuzz might even be an Electivire... I doubt covering them in ketchup is an acceptable strategy for Pokemon League competition.'

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Ah!" Ash exclaimed, "You startled me."

"That's the point of sneaking up on someone, Ash." Misty explained.

"I know what the point is."

Misty giggled and looked to where Ash had been staring just a second ago, "So what are you thinking about?"

"Stuff?"

"Dark City." Misty guessed.

Ash nodded, "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd go for a walk to clear my head."

"You're that nervous about Yas and Kaz?"

Ash shook his head, "That's not what's keeping me awake."

"Then what is?"

Ash didn't say anything.

"Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

Ash sighed, "I don't know."

Misty looked at him and studied him curiously.

"Is it about a girl?" She guessed.

Ash shook his head aggressively 'no'.

"What girl?" She asked, ignoring his defense.

Ash sighed, "There was this girl Eleanor I met when I left Pallet a couple months ago. She kind of looked like Ellen, but she was..."

"Pretty?"

"Kind of. But she was kind of... slutty?"

"Slutty?" Misty's ears went bright red.

"She wanted to go swimming, naked with me, and I just wasn't okay with it."

"And that's bothering you? Did you see her naked?"

Ash nodded awkwardly, "Kind of. I covered my eyes when she stripped and went into the lake, but she didn't put her clothes back on until I convinced her too."

"You are probably the only guy in the world who would squander that opportunity."

"Squander?" Ash demanded.

"Guys kill to see a girl topless. It's just fact. And there you are, with the opportunity to really be with someone and you lose it."

"I don't want to be with someone just because they look good naked." Ash said incredulously, "That's stupid. I'd rather date someone like..." He froze.

"Like who?" Misty asked, wanting him to finish the sentence.

"No one." Ash decided.

"You were thinking of someone specific... was it May?"

Ash shook his head.

"That other chick? Dawn?"

Ash shook his head no.

"Then who Ash Ketchum? Just tell me."

Ash shook his head and walked away.

Misty followed him quickly and kissed his cheek, "You don't have to be afraid of how you feel around me."

Ash froze in place like he'd been hit with Dewgong's Ice Beam. He lightly touched his cheek and wondered what she'd meant by that.

Ash shook it off and crawled into his bag, which was now being dominated by Growlithe.

"Good night." Misty whispered.

"Sweet dreams." He replied.

The evolution of Elekid was shocking! And the prospect of winning ANOTHER new badge is exciting. Will Ash and Misty ever confess their love for each other? Will Riolu ever stay out of trouble? Will Ash be able to beat the Yas and Kaz gym? The answer to all will be revealed, in time.


I'd like to think that this is slowly becoming a successful fanfiction. I'm proud of it to say the least, and hope you're enjoying it.

I've always wanted to revisit Dark City and reunite Ash with Primeape. It was always the plan to be honest. But there are still a few bumps in the road before we hit the Pokemon League. Namely the return of Team Rocket (Jessie, James, and Meowth specifically because Mewtwo got rid of just about everyone else). Ash will still catch a new Pokemon or two before Indigo and maybe we'll even have a final decision on Ash and Misty's relationship question.

Love you guys, review, favorite, and follow please! We'll see you next time.

And have a wonderful day.