The Young Master's Quest Ch. 19: Misty Confronts Izzy
Later…
Everybody walked in the forest all day. They found a clearing & decided to stop there for the night.
"Izzy could you get some water?" Brock asked. He still had the damage from earlier.
"Sure." Izzy replied. He grabbed a bucket & went to a nearby lake.
'Now's my chance.' Misty thought as she went into her tent.
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Izzy came back a few moments later with the bucket of water. There was fire going. Brock was cooking, Ash was roasting marshmallows, and Misty was writing in her diary with Togepi beside her.
"Here's the water." Izzy said.
"Great. Thanks." Brock said & he took the bucket. Izzy then went into his tent.
"What's this?" He asked himself. There was a white envelope on the floor of his tent. On it were the words "To Prince Israel." Izzy's eyes widened in horror.
'Someone knows. But who?' He thought as he picked up the envelope. He opened it, took out the paper, and read.
Dear Prince Israel,
Well, surprise, surprise. I know your secret. Meet me by the lake at 6AM sharp tomorrow morning or else I'll blab to your friends.
Signed,
Wouldn't you
like to know?
Izzy was fuming. Somebody knew his secret. He promised his father he wouldn't tell. Now he'll probably get blackmailed. Then again, he was planning to tell them his secret once they got to Platinum City.
He walked out of his tent like a zombie (you know, when the character's pupils aren't there).
"Dinner will be ready in a few." Brock said. Izzy ignored him & went to the lake & stared out into space.
'Somebody knows…' He thought.
When Izzy regained his composure, he went back to camp. There, Brock gave him a bowl of soup. Izzy just stared at it with the same look he had earlier.
"You feeling ok?" Ash asked.
"Never better." Izzy replied happily, then went back to staring at his soup. Ash & Brock just looked at each other and shrugged. Misty, on the other hand, was sneering at Izzy.
The next day…
The beeping of Izzy's poké gear woke him up. He rubbed his eyes & looked at the clock. It read "5:50AM". He had ten minutes to meet the mysterious letter writer. He got his clothes on & left his tent quietly.
When Izzy got to the lake, he saw someone pacing around. He could barely make out the person because of the early morning fog. He was sure it was Misty.
'Why would Misty be out here?' Thought Izzy. He walked up to her & waved.
"Good morning Misty. What's up? Why are ya out here in this fog, this early in the morning?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Misty replied.
"Well, I'm waiting for something." Izzy said. Just then, his poké gear beeped to signify that it's 6:00.
"It's time. I'm glad you got here on time, Prince Israel." Misty said. Izzy gasped & started to step back.
"Impossible! You're the one who sent me the letter?" Misty nodded. "But how? You couldn't have found out."
"Funny thing about journals, they are eventually discovered by other people." Misty replied.
"So, you read my journal. Even after you told Ash that he shouldn't read other people's journals. That means you're a hypocrite!" Israel hissed out those last words with utter disgust.
"Call me what you like. That doesn't change the fact that I know." Misty said.
"How much did you read?" Israel asked.
"Oh I read enough. Don't you worry." Misty answered, crossing her arms.
"Well, why did ya send me the letter? Why not tell Ash & Brock?" Israel asked.
"I want some answers." Misty replied.
"So, you're not gonna blackmail me?" Israel asked.
"Of course not! Unless you want me to." Misty said in a sly voice.
"No, that's ok." Israel replied in the same tone. "So what did ya want to know?"
"First of all, I want to know why you want to battle Ash." Misty said.
"The day before I left my home, I had a tournament at my gym. After I defeated the winner in a match for my badge, the challenger revealed himself as Gary Oak. He challenged me to find Ash & I thought, 'why not have a little fun before leaving Johto.' So I agreed to the worthless dare." Israel replied.
"Gary dared you to beat Ash in a match? Hahaha!" Misty laughed.
"What? Isn't Ash really strong?" Israel asked. That just made Misty laugh harder. Israel sweatdropped.
"Oh I'm sorry. That was too funny." Misty said, still stifling small giggles.
"So, Ash isn't a really good trainer?" Israel asked again.
"Don't get me wrong. Ash is a strong trainer, but Gary's much stronger." Misty replied.
"That's for sure." Israel said.
"Anyway, why'd you get so much info on Ash?" Misty asked. "It seemed like you were some kind of stalker."
"I am not a stalker! That's Team Rocket's job." Israel retorted. "I got info on Ash so that I would know what I'm up against."
"Oh. So that's why you called Prof. Oak the day we met." Misty said.
"Yep. That's why I called Prof—Hey! You were eavesdropping on me!" Israel exclaimed. Misty laughed again. "Any more questions?"
Misty thought for a moment then asked, "Why did you lie about who you are?"
"It was to protect myself." Israel replied.
"Why do you mean?" Misty asked.
"My father told me to not wear the same clothes I usually wear or use the same pokémon I like to use because I may get kidnapped or worse. It was also to avoid Team Rocket, but as you know, that plan failed." Israel explained.
"Tell me about it." Misty sighed.
"I mean, I wanted to take my fun pokémon with me, not attract attention to myself!" Israel continued.
"Well Dragonite is like a magnet for thieves like Team Rocket." Misty said.
"Yeah." Israel agreed.
"So why do you call the pokémon you have with you your fun pokémon?" Misty asked.
"I call them that because I only use them when traveling around Johto, not in gym matches." Israel replied.
"I see. So, your fun pokémon are weak, then?" Misty asked.
"My pokémon are not weak! They may not be my strongest pokémon, but they're certainly not weak." Israel said. "In fact, some of my fun pokémon are also my favorites."
"Like who?" Misty asked.
"Sadie, for example, is my absolute favorite pokémon. She sleeps in her little meowth bed in my room at home." Israel said with a grin.
Misty sweatdropped. "Ummmm Ok…" She then recovered from that small period of weirdness. "How do you feel about me?"
"You're alright. You're a bit a snoop, but you're cool." Israel said.
"No. I mean how do you feel about me as more than a friend?" Misty asked.
"Um… W-well…" Israel stammered. "Hey! Where did that question come from!?"
"Well, I read about Jasmine in your journal." Misty replied.
"Yeah…" Israel said.
"And how you got that strange, fuzzy feeling when you battled her." Misty said.
"Yeah. So? I must've come down with something during the match. Although, I did feel better after I left the gym." Israel explained. Misty shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. That feeling you had was love."
"Love? You think I love Jasmine?" Israel asked, blushing. Misty nodded.
"Take it from an expert. I've read lots of romance novels and the guy always gets a feeling like the one you described when he's in love."
"But." Israel started, but Misty interrupted him.
"But nothing! Everybody meets their true love sooner or later. It's fate!"
"But what if she rejects me?" Israel asked.
"She shouldn't, but if she does, she just wasn't meant to be for you. Don't give up though." Misty replied.
"So I should be like Brock, then?" Israel asked.
"No. Brock is hopeless." Misty replied. "Well we better get back to camp." She turned to leave.
"Misty, wait." Israel said. "I want to ask something."
"Yes?" Misty asked.
"Why did you join Ash on his journey?" Israel asked.
"He owes me a new bike." Misty replied harshly.
"Come now. What's the real reason you went with him?" Israel asked.
"What do you think?" Misty replied.
"I think that, at first, you wanted Ash to pay you back, but you warmed up to him & now, you love him." Israel said. Misty blushed.
"Don't tell me you read my diary."
"Actually, I didn't. It seemed so obvious. You: the romantic. Him: the naive trainer." Israel said.
"Man, you read me like a book." Misty sighed.
"It's a gift." Israel said.
"So now, we both love someone." Misty said.
"Yeah. What are we gonna do?" Israel asked.
"We'll have to tell them someday." Misty replied.
"I guess so." Israel said. "One more thing. How DID you find my journal, anyway?"
"Oh that. I read it while you were sleeping the night before we took Sadie to the pokémon center." Misty replied.
"While I was sleeping, eh?" Israel asked.
"Yeah. You had a bubble coming out of your nose & everything." Misty replied. Israel sweatdropped & followed Misty back to camp.
Later, at night…
Everybody has been on their feet all day. They put all of their camping gear away & continued walking toward their destination. It's now dark & the gang saw lights ahead of them.
"Is that what I hope it is?" Ash asked.
"I'll go take a look." Izzy said as he walked toward the light. "Guys! Come take a look!"
Everybody followed Izzy & saw the beautiful Platinum City.
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A/N:
That's it for this chapter. What will Misty & Prince Israel do about their unrequited love? What will happen now that the gang has finally reached Platinum City? Find out next time on the next chapter of The Young Master's Quest!