Disclaimer: Pokémon does not belong to me.
Chapter Two
Ash and Brock walked along the road, Pikachu trotting a little way ahead of them. Ash mostly kept his eyes on the ground, every so often glancing behind them.
"What's the matter, Ash?" Brock asked. "You seem so quiet."
Ash shrugged. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" he persisted. He knew Ash wasn't one to be deep in thought for very long periods of time, unless it was something really serious.
"Misty seemed really mad about her sisters, don't you think?"
Brock considered it for a moment. "Yeah, they really don't get along, do they?" he said, recalling their brief visits to Cerulean City. Daisy, Violet, and Lily could push her buttons better than anyone, even Ash did.
"Uh, no, they don't," Ash replied, not realizing it was a rhetorical question.
"I'm sure she'll be fine though," Brock reassured him. "She just needs time to cool down."
Ash sighed. "Maybe you're right. But she seemed a little upset, too. I wonder where she went." Brock shrugged.
"Pika!" Pikachu scampered back to them. He jumped up and down wildly.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked. He bent down to his Pokémon's level. "Is something the matter?" Pikachu pointed at the bend in the road. "What? Did you see something?"
Pikachu bobbed his head and ran forward. Ash and Brock followed him. As they caught up with him, they heard an odd croaking sound.
"Hey, look at that!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu stood at the edge of a large pond. And sitting on lily pads with their backs to them, croaking noisily, were…
Ash whipped out his Pokédex. "Politoed. The evolved form of Poliwhirl. This Pokémon makes a distinctive sound, which attracts its pre-evolved forms." Sure enough, swimming and wading in the water around them were about 5 Poliwag and a couple of Poliwhirl.
"Cool! I've gotta catch one." Ash reached in his backpack for his Pokéballs. "Hey, I know! I'll get one for Misty. That'll cheer her up."
"Are you sure about that?" Brock asked cautiously. "Maybe she'll want to wait and catch it for herself, or for her own to evolve."
Ash shook his head. "Nah. Then she'll have two. Two Pokémon are better than one, as I always say."
"I thought the saying goes 'Two heads are better than one,'" Brock said skeptically, "and when did you ever say that?"
Ash ignored him. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
"PikaaaaCHU!" Pikachu shocked two Politoed before they even knew what was happening. Both fell into the water. "Pokéball, go!" Ash threw the two Pokéballs, which opened and captured the unconscious Politoeds.
"I know you said two's better than one, but why'd you capture two for Misty?" Brock asked him.
Ash looked at him sheepishly. "Well, I figured, might as well get one for myself while we're here…"
* * * * * *
Brock and Ash continued through the forest, the two Politoeds in his backpack. Misty still hadn't joined up with them. Secretly, Ash was starting to get a little worried about her. He got even more worried when it started to rain. But not just plain old rain. This was a full-blown thunderstorm.
"I hope Misty finds shelter," Brock commented, voicing Ash's own thoughts. "We'd better do the same."
"Right." They ran for what seemed like miles as the rain poured down on them. Finally they came to a clearing.
"Look, there's a building!" Ash cried. They ran up to the door. There was a big window next to it. Hanging over it, there was a sign that read "O'Hair Beauty Salon."
"A beauty salon!" Ash said, horrified. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I'd rather get soaked in the rain."
"You are soaked in the rain." Brock reminded him. "Come on, it can't be that bad. I bet there are lots of pretty girls in there." He knocked on the door before Ash could continue protesting. It swung open a crack and a hand pulled both of them inside. Pikachu slipped in before it could close.
It was more or less a normal beauty salon. Two teenage girls sat under a hair dryer. Another was combing her Ninetales, the only Pokémon in the entire place. A red-haired girl sat with her back to them. Standing in a row in front of the boys was three girls. All of them were extremely tall, and wore their blue hair in a single braid to the side and with a flower stuck in it. They wore identical blue dresses and looked exactly alike.
"I'm Combya," said the girl still gripping onto Ash's shoulder, as if she didn't want him to escape.
"I'm Rinsya," said the one next to her.
"And I'm Spraya," added the last.
"We're the O'Hair triplets. Welcome to the O'Hair Beauty Salon!" they said in unison. Had Ash been free to move, he would have bolted out the door instantly. No good could come of this. He was right.
"Would you like a manicure?" continued Combya.
"A pedicure?" asked Rinsya.
"A facial?" asked Spraya.
"How 'bout a buzz cut?" "A crew cut?" "Or any kind of hair cut?"
"How about a date?" Brock asked, drooling.
"No, no, no, no, no, no and no! We don't want any of that," Ash said, holding Brock back. "We just wanted a place to stay until the rain stops."
"Sure, no problem," said one of them, he'd already forgotten which. He had no intention of asking Brock, even though he probably could tell them apart, just like every single Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in the world. He didn't want to get him started.
Pikachu sniffed the air. "Pika?" he asked, confused.
"Ah, a mouse!" screamed the triplets. They all hopped onto the cash register.
"He's not a mouse, he's a Pokémon." Ash picked him up. "He won't hurt you, right Pikachu?" Pikachu squirmed to get out of his grip. "Pikachu, what's the matter with you?"
"Pika… chuuu!" He shocked Ash and the girls as well.
"Why's he acting so weird?" he asked, setting him back on the tile floor.
Brock shrugged. Pikachu ran over and jumped onto the redhead.
"Pikachu!" Ash was answered by a very familiar "Togepi!"
The girl turned around. She had her hair the same style as the sisters, with a white lily pinned to it. She had on blush, eye make-up, and a sea green sleeveless dress. But Ash knew her in an instant. "Misty?"
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