She started to hate the look of her office.

White walls with a plain tiled floor, filing cabinets filled to the brim with files, and a desk; hidden under a mountain of paper. A perfect representation of the office life she gagged at as a child. This was her world, nearly eight hours every day. A stark contrast from the large pool and battle arena she spent the rest of her waking hours at. The pool might have also been part of her job, but it was a welcome change of pace. At least there, there was action; battles being fought with her mind racing and blood pumping at the cusp of victory or defeat. It was there, in those moments, she felt exhilaration; she felt alive. That was what she wanted her life to feel like.

Not like how she was feeling now.

With one last signature, she took a heavy sigh, and closed the file before her. Another one down. She picked up the paperwork and placed it in a small tray, her "completed" pile. The files barely made it half-way to the top. She looked over to what work she still needed to complete. The files spilled over across every corner of the desk. She couldn't even see the tray that was labeled "to do". She lowered her head and slid her hands over her scalp, her fingers gliding through her orange hair. Taking a moment to soak it all in, she looked at the corner of her computer monitor. Five-thirty at night; not terribly late, but it didn't matter.

She would miss another sunset.

The radio's on
The setting sun
And your favorite song is playing,
So we stopped what we were saying

When did her life become this way? It seemed so long ago now that she took that step. A step that was, in a way, decided for her, sure. But she accepted the role that was thrust upon her and ran with it. She knew, deep down, that it was the best way to help herself. She had a dream, she needed to work on it. "Be the greatest water Pokémon trainer". And what better way to do that than by running the Cerulean gym? Her gym. It was synonymous with water types, you couldn't think of one without thinking of Cerulean. And that was because of her. She put the work in, she returned the gym to the glory it once had, and then took it several steps beyond. She was proud of what she had accomplished.

But why wasn't she happy?

This was what she needed to do, wasn't it? Being a gym leader was just step one; she knew that. There would be more opportunities for her, she knew it, there had to be. All the hours she put in to her dream; the training, the meetings, the battles; the paperwork. It was all for something. She felt like she was ready, way back when. And she needed to prove it to herself. She had to take that step. And she didn't know if she could do that while traveling with them.

She felt a twinge in her heart suddenly, and she put her hand to her chest. Yep, there it goes again. She could feel something welling up in her eyes. She fought back the tears, like she did every time she thought of them.

It hurt, knowing that those days were behind her. She was built, broken, and remolded by the adventures she had with her friends on their travels. She had no regrets, how could you? She lived more in that short time traveling than most people did in a lifetime. A spur-of-the-moment decision to relax and fish along a small river one sunny day ended up leading to the best years of her life. And through the many more years she had since spent running the Cerulean City gym, it was those moments that she always looked back to. Not the days now spent cleaning the pool, or planning renovations to the gym. Not the moments of reassuring new trainers that their road wouldn't end there, or humbling those who's egos got a bit too big.

And certainly not the paperwork.

With the windows down
Watching stars come out
The sky is kinda hazy
And I know it might be crazy, but-

But that was the past. It did her no good to cling to those memories so tight. They were cherished, dear moments to her; but all they were doing right now was distracting her. There was still so much to do before the night ended, and she would have to repeat it all again tomorrow, and every day, until she reached that dream. That was what she had to do.

"Just keep on...doing your best"

The words she told Ash the day she left. The day she had to return home, and work on her dream. While they were sincere, she didn't anticipate that he'd take it to heart. But he had, he did continue to do his best. He achieved so much in the time since then. Since she was out of his life.

Truth be told, all of her friends had. Brock had worked his way up to becoming a Pokémon doctor. Tracey continued to work at the lab with Prof. Oak, as he always wanted. Gary was doing well with researching Pokémon like his grandfather had before him. May was all but known globally as a coordinator icon, her brother now began his own Pokémon journey. All the people that she had met in her life traveling, and all the people her friends had met in their own travels, all seemed to have reached their dreams in life, or were well on their way to. They inspired one another, and that gentle push kept them all going. But what about her?

She was a strong gym leader, she wouldn't downplay herself that much. But it had been years since she took over the gym, surely she would have gotten closer to her dream by now, wouldn't she? Just keep on doing your best. Words meant as encouragement for a dear friend then haunted her now; echoes from a past self that didn't recognize what she had become. He took her words to heart and followed through on them, so why did it feel like she didn't? Maybe she should have taken her own advice...

I been kinda getting tired
Of all the same skylines and red
lights and crowded rooms.
I been wanting something wild
Something only we'll find, far and wide,
Just me and you

She took another deep breath. She needed to relax. It was happening again, she was letting her insecurities get to her. She looked back to the computer screen. Five Forty, she hadn't wasted as much time as she thought. Part of her was glad, but something inside wished that she had. After looking once more at the pile of paperwork, Misty leaned back in her chair and reached into her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and quickly scrolled through her most recent texts.

Ash was first. It was alphabetized, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She looked through the last text she had sent, but then instantly regretted it. It was sent some days ago, a massive paragraph that would intimidate any reader, much less someone with Ash's attention span. Anger, joy, love, fear; these emotions rushed through her and out her mouth before she could even register what was happening. But doubt? Guilt? That was something she kept bottled inside, hidden from view of any prying eyes. But she had gotten better at opening up, even if only in select situations, and only through texts with friends too far away to see her struggle. Such was the case here.

A few nights ago, the same feeling of doubt got the better of her, and she messaged Ash about it. He was always good to vent to when they were both kids, not especially because he was often the cause of her needing to vent to begin with. But the petty squabbles that would lead to temporary reconciliations were replaced with brief texts that were few and far between; a result of their busier lives. She felt second-hand embarrassment, seeing the words she had sent, but pushed her way through them regardless. She didn't even remember writing most of it, likely her insecurities were doing most of the talking.

She sent it three days ago.

There was no response.

Cause I been waiting all of my life
To feel the way that I do tonight
To have you on the passenger side
And drive (drive)

It wasn't rare for him to leave a message on read for days at a time, only to pick up where it left off like no time had passed at all. He was traveling, and she understood that. But it also wasn't often she would send something that came with so much weight. She hated that feeling. She was one of the first to offer a hand to someone who needed it, but she was the last to ask for one, herself.

Something the two of them shared.

Would he respond to her? He had definitely read the message, or at the very least, opened it up. But Misty had to remind herself, he was busy. He was training, traveling, battling. Doing everything he could to make his dream come true. And he was succeeding. He couldn't be bothered to respond to all of that; not when he was doing what he set out to do from day one. She pressed the message, and when the option came up, she deleted it. The page shrunk considerably, and her texts now showed a conversation about water-based battle tactics she had two weeks prior with him. It was better that way, Misty thought. He didn't need to bare all of that from her.

She backed out of Ash's messages, and saw Brock's name next. Again, alphabetized, but fitting. If she was going to go down the rabbit hole, she might as well commit. She opened the message log. These texts were sent the day after Ash's, in the early morning before her daily routines. It was one of the few times that both her and Brock were awake and, more or less, free to talk. Like with Ash, she opened up about the feelings she hadn't gotten over that night before. Unlike Ash, Brock responded. Short and sweet responses, reassuring her that she was doing alright. An early appointment he had ended the conversation abruptly, but it was better than nothing.

Brock's responses were the only thing that kept her from deleting the messages she had sent him, and it was different talking about these things with him, anyway. She backed out, and scrolled through her messages again. She looked at her recents, with Gary being at the top now. Long gone were the days of him an arrogant, unlikable rich-boy; at least now he was likable. She kept in touch with him over the years, and he was actually good for conversation, if not at least a laugh. She sent her text some hours after Brock's, with an almost identical message. The response? "Well put on your 'big girl' panties, then, and kick ass!".

Her sisters said that her and Gary were similar, she didn't see it.

Wherever we go-o, I don't mind
I would go fast right over the line
To have you on the passenger side
And drive (drive)

He was right, she needed to stop coming up with excuses. She turned her phone off and gently tossed it aside on the desk. The others didn't complain about paperwork, they didn't come up with excuses. They put the work in, and she needed to, too. She could feel burnout when she was dead. Her dream wasn't going to just happen, and this was the only way she could realize it.

Right? She sighed. She couldn't get a single thought straight. She was too distracted, too distraught, and quite frankly, too tired. It would bother her more if it didn't happen every night. It was almost as routine to her as the paperwork itself; go figure, she thought. But, as much as she hated it, as much as she wished for something else, if this was what it took to reach her goal, she would have to endure, and-

*Bzz*

The mountain side
Covered in light
Every day it's always changing
We'll be dancing when it's raining

She looked at the screen of her phone. A new message. Did she accidentally press something when she was looking through her texts? She picked up her phone and looked at the name. It was from Gary.

"Come outside"

Her eyes gazed at the time, five forty-seven brightly shining just above the notification. What was he talking about? Was he here? At this hour? She didn't have time for this. But if he was here, she couldn't very well just leave him out there. But she wasted enough time as it was, she needed to know for sure. She unlocked her phone and immediately began replying.

"Why? Are you here?"

She waited for a moment. If it were an emergency, he would just call, surely. She knew he was in Kanto recently, but she didn't think he was anywhere near here. And why would he be, anyway? Her phone vibrated, and she looked at the screen.

"Just come outside".

She gave out an exasperated sigh. This was what she got for giving in to distraction and not focusing on her work.

"I don't have time for this, Gary. I have so much I need to do tonight, is it important?"

She felt bad; if he had come all the way out to see her, the least she could do is talk to him for a little bit. But he knew how much work she had to do, and she knew what kind of a distraction he could end up being. The last time they had hung out, her sisters had to pick her up from the Cerulean Pub, and she had to battle two trainers the next day wearing heavy-tinted sunglasses and drinking some ungodly concoction that Daisy swore cured hangovers. And as good as one sounded right now, the last thing she needed was another "Cerulean Sunrise".

A response. She looked at her phone.

"Don't you trust me?"

We're free this time
Don't need no guide
I just needed rearranging
I don't know where it'll take me, but-

Are you kidding me? What was this about?

"Absolutely not!"

She rested her head on her hand, rubbing the side of her forehead with her thumb. How could she love and hate a distraction so much at the same time? She looked at the files across her table. The pages of yet-signed or filled-out documents were no closer to done than they were fifteen minutes ago. It looked like they would be staying that way for a while longer yet. She looked at her phone, and perfect timing, she got a response.

"Harsh, but fair".

No kidding. A second, immediate text appeared.

"Ok, then, do you trust Ash?"

Wait...what?

She sat there, staring at the message for a bit. What did Ash have to do with this? She didn't bring him up in her conversation with Gary before. She held her phone, her thumbs hovering over the keypad. She tried to think of what to write, but her mind was racing with dozens of possible scenarios that could play out that night.

"...What is this about, Gary?"

Mere seconds for a response. He must have had an answer prepared for her.

"A leap of faith"

I been kinda getting tired
Of all the same skylines and red
lights and crowded rooms.

"Just come outside"

She put her phone down on the desk and looked at it. Five forty-nine at night on a Tuesday was a Hell of a time to take a leap of faith. Gary was not the poet his grandfather believed he was. And while she believed he could be genuinely sweet in the right moments, whatever this was seemed out of character for him; especially towards her specifically. Did this have something to do with what he said? "Do you trust Ash?" Did he set this up? She leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed, and spaced out.

She thought about what Gary had said. It would be easy to joke about the answer, but she knew the truth; the answer Gary knew she would have.

She did trust him.

I been wanting something wild
Something only we'll find, far and wide,
Just me and you

She took one deep, steady breath; one she would take before a deep dive off the high board into the pool.

And smiled.

She stood up, grabbed her phone off the untouched mound of paperwork, and made her way out of the cramped office. She was moving faster than she intended. She was on auto-pilot, and it seemed like her body was just taking over while her mind focused elsewhere. She didn't stop to look at the mop bucket she left out to remind herself to clean the floors, or the bulletin board covered in pinned notes of meetings with Pokémon League officials scheduled for the month. She had more purpose in her step now than she had in the months and years she walked these halls; and she didn't know why. Before she knew it, she was nearly walking through the glass doors leading outside before they even had time to register her presence. She stopped mid-stride, gasping to herself, as the doors slowly opened on their own.

A light breeze brushed against her, giving rise to goosebumps over her skin. Her loose strands of hair on the side of her face bobbed up and down. It was like a gentle wake-up call, something she felt like she needed. The sky was a brilliant explosion of oranges, pinks, and reds; as they were almost every summer night in Cerulean at this time. They seemed to be leading her ahead, off to the distance.

"Took you long enough"

She was so busy looking up at the sky, she didn't look at what was right in front of her. Several yards away, directly in front of Misty, stood Gary. He had his arms crossed, and had his back against the driver side of his convertible, which was parked facing away from Cerulean Gym. He smirked.

"I figured, when you didn't respond, that you were on your way out. Would have been a bitch to have to drag you out".

Misty could only look at him, she was still at a loss for words. There was so much going on in such a short amount of time, that she couldn't figure out how to process it all. Something that broke up the monotony of her daily routines was kinda scary in a way, and she felt nerves build up inside. But these nerves felt different, in a way. It was a weird sensation, like tasting a flavor you hadn't had since childhood. It was familiar to her, something she hadn't felt in many years. The same kind of sensation she always had on a new adventure from days long passed.

"While I'm used to leaving women speechless, a response this time would be nice".

Misty shook her head, pushing the nerves down for at least a little while longer. She looked at Gary.

"Gary...what are you doing here?" The young man smiled mischievously.

"I came to get you, of course".

Misty sighed.

"I'm not going to the pub, Gary. And all the rum in the world won't make the paperwork I have to do go away." Gary couldn't help but laugh at the comment. He could see why she didn't trust him.

"This isn't about rum, for once. And you didn't answer my question". Misty raised an eyebrow. Gary reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, waving it in front of her. "The question I asked you. You can't answer my question with another question. So give it to me straight...do you trust Ash?".

She found herself catching her breath. Gary was smiling and coming off as his usual cocky self, but she could tell there was more to the question. Ash had done something, he must have. And to pull Gary into it, it must have been to no small effort on his part.

"I..." she trailed off. She felt like context was needed. She didn't know what she was responding to. All she knew was, if Gary was making it out to be a bigger deal than it really was, she'd kill him for wasting her time when she was feeling like this.

"Don't think". Misty looked up to him. He looked at her, surprisingly sternly. Maybe it was a big deal after all, she thought. "Just feel, and answer the question honestly". She looked at him for a moment, and another gentle breeze skated across the parking lot. She closed her eyes as the wind tickled her. Suddenly, her mind seemed made up. She had a lot of thoughts running through her head, but they were silenced by one simple sensation that went through her chest. She smiled.

"...I do".

Cause I been waiting all of my life
To feel the way that I do tonight

Gary smiled.

"Good. Then hop in".

"What do you mean? Where do you plan on taking me?" Gary smirked. He looked at his phone, using his thumb to open his screen to a page Misty couldn't see.

"...Couple days ago, Ashy-boy texts me out of the blue. Said that he was getting a hold of a lot of us, and asked us all for a favor. Said that he got a message from you that concerned him, and he, and I'm quoting him here, "feel like I need to help her, the way she helped me"."

"...He did?" Gary tossed the phone gently into the car and opened the door. He leaned over the door and faced Misty.

"Immediately came back here, grabbed as many of his friends as he could, most of whom I assume you've met, and wants to see you. Asked me to pick you up, cause God-forbid he learn how to drive and get his own car".

To have you on the passenger side
And drive (drive)

"He...he never responded to me...".

"Probably because he was too busy putting all of this together. Never seen him be so uptight over something that didn't involve a battle. But when I got the message you sent me, I figured out what was bugging him. And I gotta give him credit where it's due, he really thought this out". Misty watched as he stepped into the car, fastened his seat belt, and closed the door. After a second or two, he leaned back, his arm hanging outside the door, and looked at the dumbfounded gym leader. "Look, I can't make you come, but we're kind of on a time table here. So are you going to take that leap of faith, or what?...Cause it sounds like you need it".

Misty stood there, looking to the car. The nerves she pushed down moments ago found their way back up, and they expanded through her body. She looked back to the gym behind her. The outdoor night lights hadn't kicked in yet, all of the light that made the gym seem to shine came from the sunset reflecting off the glass. She found her breath shallow, and her hand shook. She held it tight, and turned around again to face Gary.

The sky looked just like it did that day, so many years ago. Running through Viridian City, holding above her head the charred remains of what once was her bicycle; chasing down the stupid kid who stole it from her and left it wrecked off the side of the road. She didn't know why the sky reminded her of that day in particular; she had seen the same sky countless days before, and it rarely looked any different than it did now.

But maybe, if she took a leap of faith, she could find out.

Wherever we go-o, I don't mind
I would go fast right over the line

Slowly, she took one step forward, and before she knew it, she was dashing to the passenger side of Gary's car. He smirked as she hopped over the car door, landing firmly in the seat with a thud. He started the ignition as she put her seat belt on.

"Felt good, didn't it?"

Misty couldn't hide her smile.

To have you on the passenger side
And drive (drive)

"So, where are we going?"

"To the lighthouse. That's where they all are. Ash wanted to make sure you got to see the sunset"

"...He remembered". Misty couldn't help but blush.

"Also said he wanted to talk to you about something, I don't know all the details, he'll fill you in once you see him". He looked to Misty.

And drive
And drive

"So...you ready?"

And drive
And drive

She took one more deep, steady breath, and prepared for the plunge.

"...Yeah, let's go"