DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters, place names, etc. The only characters I own here are the lovely Samara Kantaris (or rather, she owns me...hehehe) and her 'rival' Ivan. I guess Stella's mine as well, you could say. None of the other characters are mine (although I heartily wish I owned Lance and Giovanni, but unfortunately I don't...)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I suppose you want to know my motives behind getting rid of Tyson so early? LOL I'm really sorry about that...I kinda had it planned, and I didn't realise that he'd make such an impression on everyone. Hehehe.

I actually have the next chapter written (almost completed) but I dunno when I'm gonna get chance to finish it and post it...I'm on holiday from school all week starting Monday 16th, but I'm on work experience Monday-Friday. Then I have coursework to finish. But don't worry, I'll get round to finishing the next chapter ASAP.

Thanks for the review, Lunar Sphinx! Hehe...I guess I should post one chapter at a time, really.

And thanks for another review, Kazeto Tamashii!

Anyway, sorry this took so long. Enjoy it, everyone.


Kantaris woke up suddenly with a sense of urgency as though she had overslept. She looked at the clock on the wall above the mirror. It was certainly late, nearly ten o'clock at night. She had been asleep for most of the day. Her body clock was messed up by now, but Kantaris was a night person by nature so this suited her fine. She felt a weird kind of energy and alertness at night.

She got up and turned on the kettle that was sitting on a tray on the bedside table. She also took a cup and saucer and a packet of hot chocolate from the tray. She wandered over to the window while waiting for the kettle to boil. It wasn't a particularly cold night, but her hair was still damp from the shower. Kantaris shivered and leant over the radiator, trying to get warm. The view from her window wasn't so bad. She could see over the tops of most of the buildings and up onto the hills of Cerulean Cape. After gazing for a few moments, she noticed a strange cluster of sparkly things near the top of one of the hills. They reminded her of diamonds.

Kantaris made herself a cup of hot chocolate and stood at the window, drinking slowly and cradling the cup in her hands so as to make the most of its warmth. She never removed her gaze from the glittering things at the top of the hill. They seemed to be moving a little, like floating candles. But the light they gave out was sharper than that of fire, and it was bright silver in colour.

With her curiosity and sense of adventure roused, Kantaris brushed her hair quickly and put on the belt that carried her four Pokémon as well as two extra Pokéballs. She couldn't be bothered bringing her heavy backpack, so she simply grabbed her coat. She drunk down the last of her hot chocolate and seized the door key before rushing off.

There wasn't much nightlife in this part of Cerulean City, probably because it was relatively near the outskirts. Kantaris wasn't all too sure where she was. She had arrived in broad daylight (and in a rush) when it was busy, so the place looked different now. But this was no problem: Kantaris simply headed in the direction of Cerulean Cape, jogging in the middle of the road most of the time seen as there seemed to be no cars around at all.

Kantaris took advantage of the peace and quiet. Here, the air was clean and fresh, unlike in Celadon City, which had something of a Grimer problem, and Saffron City, which was just full of traffic. The sky was unbelievably clear. There was a full moon in sight, but no stars. And most importantly, she felt safer than she had ever done while walking the streets of Celadon or Saffron after dark. As she reached the foot of the small hill that she had been looking at from her window, Kantaris could see that there was a small lake near the top of the hill. It was glowing.

She took the footpath that led up to the lake. The climb wasn't hard, but Kantaris could feel her heart racing as she neared the lake with its glowing things. She lay down in the wet grass on her front and crawled up to the side of the lake, being as silent as possible. Peering over the embankment, she caught sight of what was creating the sparkling lights: a crowd of Staryu, floating on the surface of the lake. Their central jewels were all lit up.

Team Rocket often resorted to selling Star Pieces and Stardust when they had nothing better to do, and Kantaris was reminded of the way she would hang around in the packaging area, picking up the pretty Star Pieces and admiring them. They were red in colour, but whenever they caught the light they would always shine silver, for some reason. Kantaris knew where they came from, of course, but prior to now, she had never seen an actual Staryu. She decided that the Star Pieces looked a lot nicer on living Staryus, and she made a mental note to discourage her teammates away from selling Star Pieces once she got back. But right now, she had to catch a Staryu.

Singling one out from near the bank of the lake, she released Pineco from its Pokéball with an order of,

"Leech Life!"

Pineco carried out an attack that looked similar to Oddish's Absorb. The floating Staryu was caught unawares and it immediately straightened up in the water before leaping out of the lake and onto the grass, just a few feet away from Kantaris. Its jewel glowed even brighter, and hundreds of little stars were projected from it like tiny golden bullets – a Swift attack. The stream of stars hit Pineco full on, and Pineco bristled angrily as it got up.

"Um...Tackle!" Kantaris ordered quickly before Pineco had chance to Self-Destruct.

Pineco delivered an impressive Tackle that made the Staryu fall backwards into the lake. Kantaris watched anxiously as a few bubbles rose from the surface. After a few seconds, the Staryu floated to the surface again. Kantaris tugged a free Pokéball from her belt and tossed it towards the lake in an underarm throw. The Pokéball took up the Staryu and landed on the grass with a soft thud. It rocked slowly from side to side; the button in the middle lit up once, and it fell still.

Kantaris had been holding her breath for the past thirty seconds. Now she let it out slowly as she picked up the Pokéball. Glancing up, she noticed that the rest of the Staryu had disappeared from the lake, probably sunk out of view. She also noticed a viewpoint, just a little further up the hill. A girl was standing there, leaning over a fence and gazing straight out over Cerulean City. Kantaris called Pineco back and put both Pokéballs back onto her belt. The night was still young, so she decided to take a stroll up to the viewpoint.

As she got there, the girl glanced at her.

"Impressive," the girl said calmly. "Well done."

Kantaris couldn't see the girl's face clearly because she was standing in the shadow of the trees and there was hardly any light now that the Staryu had left, but from her voice Kantaris could tell that she was young, maybe just a teenager.

"Thanks," Kantaris replied. She put her coat on – it was chilly up there – and sat on the fence. "What are you doing up here all alone?"

"I was training, but I think I'm done for the night. And as for being alone, my boyfriend used to come with me...but he's kind of busy these days." She changed the subject. "You have potential. How long have you been a trainer?"

Kantaris was a bit unnerved that this young girl was telling her that she had 'potential', as if she were superior or an expert on the subject. But she didn't want to snap at a kid, so she replied,

"I've been a trainer for quite a while, but only casually. But I'm on the Gym Challenge at the moment. I've just started." She paused and asked, "Have you ever been on the Gym Challenge?"

"I can't," the girl replied. "I'm not allowed."

"Not allowed?" Kantaris realised that her last question had been a stupid one anyway. Her parents would have never let her travel alone at such a young age. Well, she'd left home at round about this girl's age, but she could have predicted what her parents' attitude would have been. "You'll be allowed, someday."

"It's not because of my age!" the girl replied stiffly. "I'm a Gym Leader. Gym Leaders can't take the Gym Challenge themselves unless they give up their Gym for a while. And I don't wanna do that. It's the only thing I'm good at."

"Whoa!" Kantaris exclaimed. "You're a Gym Leader?"

First Brock, now this? Just gets weirder and weirder.

"That's right," the girl said. "I'm Misty Waterflower, the youngest of four sisters and the Cerulean City Gym Leader."

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are?" Kantaris asked with newfound respect.

"Fourteen. But age doesn't come into Pokémon training, you know."

Kantaris blushed, feeling stupider than ever. But soon her attitude changed. So what if Misty was a Gym Leader? She was just a kid! And Kantaris had to battle the Cerulean City Gym Leader either way. It could only be to her advantage that her opponent was three years her younger.

"Could I challenge you to a battle, Misty?" Kantaris asked, trying her best not to sound patronizing.

"Now?"

"If you like."

"Normally, I wouldn't," Misty said warningly, glancing at her watch. "But I can't exactly turn down a challenge, can I? Come on, we should go to the Gym."

Misty vaulted over the fence and got back on the path. Kantaris slipped down from where she was sitting and followed silently, all the way down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, when they hit the main road again, Misty turned left and took the second right. It was a cul-de-sac, and at the end there was an attractive round building with a glass-domed roof. The lights were on.

Misty entered a code into the door and went in.

"I'm back, Kate!" she called out. "I got a challenger!"

"Okay! Good luck!" a voice called from a room at the opposite end of the Gym.

Kantaris looked around in wonder. It looked more like a public swimming pool than a Pokémon Gym. There was a round pool in the centre, and it had a platform running across its middle so that it looked somewhat like a Pokéball. Posters adorned the walls, and at the opposite side of the pool there were two doors.

Misty walked round to the opposite side of the pool and Kantaris got a good look at her for the first time. She actually looked younger than fourrteen. She was petite (scrawny, even), with flaming ginger hair tied back in a scruffy ponytail. She was dressed as if it were summer, in shorts and a T-shirt. Kantaris felt cold just looking at her, even though it was warm in the Gym.

"Is Kate one of your sisters?" Kantaris asked.

"Nah, she just trains here from time to time," Misty replied. "My sisters are part of a synchronized swimming team. They're touring at the moment."

Kantaris noticed that most of the posters on the walls were advertising synchronized swimming displays or water shows.

"Is synchronized swimming not your thing?" Kantaris asked. She wasn't just being polite: she was actually a little curious. She couldn't imagine Misty being a synchronized swimmer.

Misty glanced at her feet and sighed.

"No," she replied uncomfortably. "I'm the family's only Pokémon trainer. That's why I was able to become a Gym Leader. Like I said, it's all I have."

Kantaris could tell that Misty didn't really want to talk about this. So she decided to change the subject.

"My name's Samara," she said by way of a brief introduction. She didn't know quite why she'd chosen to give her first name only, but she had. It didn't matter that much.

"Where are you from?"

"Saffron City."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" This seemed like an unusual question to ask a challenger, but Kantaris answered it anyway.

"Nope, I'm an only one."

"Bet that's nice," Misty commented.

"I used to hate it. I was lonely, and my parents were always hanging round me, fussing..." She shrugged. "But now I don't mind, 'cos I have a big bunch of friends to hang around with."

By 'friends' she meant fellow Team Rocket members. But heaven forbid that she admitted to being a Rocket in front of this kid. She glanced down at her coat, just to check that it was still fastened and hiding her uniform. It was too humid in the Gym to be wearing a coat, and Kantaris was becoming uncomfortably aware of this.

"You can challenge me now," Misty said plainly, obviously eager to prove her talent.

"Okay. I challenge you, Misty, for a Cascadebadge."

"Challenge accepted," she replied with a graceful courtesy.

Misty had three Pokéballs at her waist. She tossed the first one; its Pokémon emerged and dived into the water from the air.

"I'll use my Goldeen first, if that's okay with you."

"And I'll use the platform."

Kantaris selected Oddish's Pokéball and pressed the button on the front, beaming the energy onto the central platform of the pool. Oddish appeared, and Misty smiled wryly. Kantaris was looking relaxed and at ease, but in reality she was faced with a bit of a dilemma. How would she battle against a Pokémon that was in the water? It could just dive whenever it wanted...how would any of Oddish's attacks connect? And what if Oddish fell into the pool? This battle didn't seem all too fair.

"Oddish, Absorb!" she ordered, realizing that it may be the only attack that would work here. A Tackle was out of the question.

Oddish rustled its leaves and the familiar green circle of light formed around Goldeen.

"Dive, Goldeen!" Misty ordered.

Goldeen did so, and Kantaris watched carefully. The orb of green light remained, and she could see it underneath the water. At the bottom of the pool, Goldeen slowed down and stayed still for a moment.

"Horn Attack!" Misty shouted.

Goldeen rose to the surface quickly and dived towards Oddish with a well-aimed Horn Attack.

"Dodge it!" Kantaris called, a fraction of a second late. Luckily, Oddish didn't need to be told and it sprang to the left. Goldeen sailed straight over the platform and landed at the other side of the pool, unscathed.

"Poison Powder!" Kantaris ordered.

Oddish shook its leaves again, spraying forth the deadly purple dust. Goldeen didn't dodge, and the dust settled on it and the water around it. Misty giggled and Goldeen dived underwater briefly. When it emerged, all the powder had washed off. Kantaris pouted.

"Absorb again, Oddish!" she commanded.

"Dodge it with a Peck attack, Goldeen!"

Oddish's attack missed, but Goldeen's attack didn't. Peck was a Flying type attack, and so it caused considerable damage. Oddish teetered at the edge of the platform and in a moment of panic, Kantaris quickly called it back into its Pokéball.

"Let's try Staryu!" she said, throwing forth her fifth Pokéball.

"Are you sure?" Misty asked as Staryu landed in the water about two metres away from Goldeen. "You weakened it before catching it."

"It'll hold," Kantaris replied confidently. "Swift!"

Staryu sprung out of the water and stood at Kantaris' feet. From its central jewel it shot forth golden stars like gunfire. Goldeen dived, but the stars followed it. Kantaris smirked, suddenly remembering that Swift never missed. It was the attack that trainers always used, if they could, when their opponent's Pokémon was in the air or underground.

"Peck attack!" Misty yelled.

"Spin Tackle!" Kantaris ordered a moment later.

Goldeen rose out of the water to an incredible height, and Staryu seemed to teeter backwards for a second, watching it. Then, as it descended to attack, Staryu leapt up and projected itself straight at it. The two Pokémon collided heavily. Goldeen fainted and fell from the air in a vertical line before landing in Kantaris' side of the pool with a resounding splash. Staryu continued through the air in a graceful, spinning arc and landed in Misty's side of the pool almost silently. Misty eyed it for a moment.

"Impressive..." she said slowly as Goldeen returned to its Pokéball.

"Naturally."

Kantaris sang to herself as Misty selected her next Pokémon. She released it without a word, and it was so small, Kantaris had to stand on tiptoes to see it. It was a Horsea, and it faced Staryu on Misty's side of the pool.

"Smokescreen, Horsea!"

Smokescreen? For a Water Pokémon? Kantaris raised her eyebrows.

For a moment, Horsea did nothing. It faced Staryu calmly, and everything was silent. Kantaris held her breath in anticipation. Then Horsea suddenly spat a jet of ink at Staryu. Kantaris blinked, taken aback.

"Um...whatever," she muttered. "Water Gun!"

She knew it wouldn't do much damage: she just wanted to see.

Staryu had a surprisingly powerful Water Gun. It was so strong, it sent Horsea reeling backwards and crashing into the pool wall. Kantaris smiled a little smile. She'd certainly picked the right Staryu.

"Swift!" she called out before Horsea had the chance to move. She intended to keep Horsea pinned to the pool wall.

"Dodge it, Horsea!" There was a note of desperation in Misty's voice.

Kantaris shook her head minutely, knowing that Horsea wouldn't be able to dodge the attack. But Horsea was fast. It swam off towards the central platform at surprising speed, but the stars caught up with it. They glanced off the back of its head brutally. Kantaris winced, but shrugged.

"Ice Beam!" Misty hissed, out for revenge now.

Kantaris gasped, partly out of awe and partly out of fear, as a beam of ice shot from Horsea's mouth like a crazy, oversized icicle. It hit Staryu full on, propelling it backwards into the pool wall (similar to what Staryu's Water Gun had done, in fact). Kantaris shifted uneasily, waiting for the Ice Beam to stop. But it carried on. She was at the point of calling Staryu back or even yelling 'stop'...but the Ice Beam finally finished. And Staryu was a gigantic, floating ice cube.

Kantaris silently cursed herself for not carrying any Ice Heals. She threw Staryu's Pokéball forward so violently, it jarred her arm. But she barely noticed. It was time to bring out the big guns.

"Stella!" she yelled, making both Misty and Horsea jump.

Nothing happened. Misty thought it was a joke. She laughed.

"So, who's –?" she began to ask.

But then a purple stream of mist slowly rose from the floor around Kantaris, and a pair of feminine eyes appeared.

"Who's Stella?" Kantaris smiled. "This is Stella."

She was relishing Misty's freaked out expression. When Stella finally appeared properly, Misty cocked her head to one side and gave her a curious look.

"Is that a Misdreavus?" she asked.

"No!" Kantaris replied scornfully. "This is the Misdreavus."

"What?"

"This is the Misdreavus..." Kantaris giggled "...that knows Thunder!"

She leaned forward and called out the last word as a command. Stella's eyes flashed and she threw forth bolts of lightning in all directions. Kantaris skillfully ducked to the left to avoid one that went crashing into the wall behind her. She watched with glee as the rest of the lightning bolts were directed towards the pool. And that was enough. The whole pool lit up with lightning.

"Electricity doesn't bode well in this Gym, does it?" Kantaris asked casually, gazing around the room.

Misty growled under her breath as she called back her Horsea, which was floating on the surface of the water in a state of unconsciousness.

"You're strong," she muttered, more to herself than to Kantaris.

"I kno-o-o-o-w," Kantaris called back. Her voice echoed around the room mockingly.

"If you wanna win just using that one attack, then so be it," Misty said with a shrug and a scowl, throwing in her last Pokéball.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Kantaris said sarcastically. Then she added an exaggerated, "Ooh!" as a Golduck appeared on the central platform.

"Psybeam!" Misty yelled in a high-pitched voice.

The almost-invisible Psybeam hit Stella full on. Stella went spiraling backwards slowly, but she was giggling as if she were more amused than hurt. Kantaris ushered her forwards.

"Psybeam!" she yelled, imitating Misty.

Stella mirrored Golduck's last move, but it did little damage. Kantaris didn't care – she was just playing around anyway. Misty was looking irritated.

"Sorry," Kantaris said, "I meant...Shadow Ball!"

Stella laughed wickedly, and a black and purple ball materialized in front of her. Misty gasped in anguish as a strange light filled the room. The overhead lights on the ceiling flickered for a split-second...then the Shadow Ball hit Golduck just as it was diving into the pool. Kantaris wasn't actually sure if it had truly hit or not.

"Surf!" Misty ordered. "Get out of the way!"

Kantaris realised in the nick of time that Misty's last order had been directed at her. She performed a nimble jazz leap to the right and stood back as a miniature tidal wave rose over the surface of the pool and swept over Stella. When it cleared, Stella was still hovering in the air, but dripping wet. Kantaris didn't see how a ghost could be wet, but she didn't think about it too much. Golduck was in the water again. Too good of an opportunity to miss.

"Thunder!" she ordered.

Stella flew high above the pool and shook the excess water down. It fell into the pool like raindrops. Then she did a three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn before performing a perfect Thunder attack. Bolts of lightning ran around the edge of the pool and straight down into the water, bouncing off the central platform. Misty and Kantaris both turned away from the blinding light. The Thunder attack seemed to be going on forever.

"Stop!" Misty screamed.

"Yeah. Stop."

Stella stopped. She made a buzzing noise and made her own hair stand up on end for a moment. Kantaris smiled at her mild pun.

Misty gazed at her fainted Golduck hopelessly. Then she looked at Kantaris, who had returned to her original place at the opposite side of the pool.

"Do you want your badge?" Misty asked forlornly.

"I just beat you! Of course I fu –...of course I want my badge!" Kantaris checked herself, not wanting to cuss in front of a kid.

"Well, okay then," Misty said. She took one out of her back pocket and strolled over, removing the teardrop-shaped badge from the piece of thin black plastic that it was embedded in.

"Why did you ask if I wanted it?" Kantaris asked.

"I just wondered," Misty replied, handing it over. Kantaris almost snatched it off her.

Kantaris didn't bother questioning Misty anymore, although she couldn't imagine why any trainer might say 'no' to what was rightfully theirs. She pinned the light blue badge onto her coat neatly, beside her Boulderbadge.

"Alright! A Cascadebadge!" Now that it was truly hers, she was chipper.

Misty nodded.

"Good luck for the rest of your journey..." she said, that wistful side of her coming to light again.

Kantaris felt sorry for her again.

"You'll get out someday," she said, patting Misty on the shoulder gently. "You'll get to see the world."

Misty smiled. "You ain't so bad, you know."

"I know." Kantaris winked and made her way out of the Gym.

A little way down the road, she considered going back and thanking Misty. She felt a little guilty for keeping a kid up so late and delivering such a tough battle. But when she turned and looked, all the lights were out at the Gym. Kantaris felt tired, and her legs were feeling very heavy again with the sudden realization that it must have been almost midnight. She had a watch on, but she couldn't be bothered lifting her arm to check it.

Kantaris wandered back to the hotel sleepily and sluggishly, and as soon as she was in her room, she tumbled into bed without even bothering to get changed.