Disclaimer: Do I need to say every time that I don't own Pokemon? Eh… can't hurt.
Well, here it finally is: the first chapter of my new story (and so far the longest chapter I've written). Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1: A League of Whose Own?
"Hey, little sis, hurry up with those cleaners!"
"Coming, Daisy." Misty Warrick grumbled a bit as she opened the closet door and found what the chemicals in question. Every year or so, the Cerulean City Gym Leaders made a point of draining the gym's pool and giving it a thorough going-over to get rid of the residue from countless Pokemon battling. That time had come again, and Misty, though her sisters had now returned from their travels and officially become the Gym Leaders once again, found herself more and more helping to run the gym, including taking on challengers occasionally.
It wasn't as though there was anything else she really wanted to do. Not since… Not for a long time.
She took two of the containers in hand and headed back to the central arena as quickly as she could, considering the weight she was carrying.
An outsider walking into the gym at that point might have thought of a great but sick or dead beast, drained of its vitality, the aura that made it mighty. Of course, this is only so something better can appear; in this case, it was a clean pool for proper recreation, Pokemon battling and otherwise.
"So how do I get these down there again?" Misty was really starting to feel strain.
"Just hand them to me." Below, Misty's blonde-haired older sister stretched her arms upward to take a container in hand, then hoisted the other one down.
Misty vaulted over the edge of the pool, wincing slightly as she made contact with the bottom.
"That'll teach you to jump 15 feet straight down without blinking," grinned her sister.
The youngest Cerulean Sister only looked around. "Hey, where did Violet and Lily go?"
Daisy shrugged. "They wanted to bring a TV down here for some reason. Soaps, probably." She shrugged again. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to enjoy ourselves while we work."
"Let's just get this over with." Misty grabbed a sponge, but stopped cold when a shriek emanated from the upper levels of the building.
What the heck? She dropped the sponge and ran to a nearby ladder; Daisy reflexively tried to jump up the same way her sister had come down before following her to the ladder.
Their first thought when they found their sisters was one of annoyance; not only did there appear to be no danger, but Violet and Lily were actually sitting in the hall, looking at the device they had been transporting.
"What the hell is with you two?" Daisy snapped.
"Umm… sorry sis…." The blue-haired Violet replied haltingly. "We thought we wouldn't get it down in time for the show to start, so we decided to watch the first couple of minutes and come down during the commercials… but then we saw this!"
Daisy (still rather miffed and skeptical) and Misty (more curious than anything else) moved around to see the screen. For a moment, there didn't seem to be anything particularly noteworthy about it; it was showing some sort of press conference.
"Look who's talking, though," Violet answered her sister's unspoken rebuke. "Didn't we all think he was dead by now?"
The two standing leaned forward, and their mouths dropped open- Misty's especially. As the camera zoomed in, they could make out the figure at the podium only too clearly: a young man with messy black hair, a smudgy face, and an earnest smile. It seemed different, but it had been a year….
It had been a sad group indeed after a month of fruitless searching. Defeating the Mew-clones, wherever they had come from, had been one thing, but their friend had still not returned. After a week, Delia had contacted police, but the Jennies and their compatriots had come up with nothing. Though "Missing" posters had stayed up, Ash's mother, as well as the young trainer's friends, had resigned themselves to the possibility, apparently fact, that he (and Pikachu and the other Pokemon he had been carrying) had somehow fallen prey to the thing that had called itself Mewtres before it had come across Misty.
Yet there he was on the television screen. Misty's heart leapt into her throat out of pure shock… at least, that's what she told herself.
"For those of you who are just tuning in," an announcer suddenly said, "this is the Kanto Technical Network recovering a conference held by Silph Enterprises last night. The Saffron scientific firm, known for its work in information transmission and Pokemon containment, has hinted at startling new developments in line. One had already become apparent, as the first keynote speaker is none other that noted Pokemon trainer Ashton Ketchum, who after a relatively short career, including impressive stints in the indigo and Johto Leagues, won last year's Hoenn League competition before disappearing without a trace. He now claimed that he was training privately in the northern mountains and that it was for the best that he was left alone. This is his first public appearance in a year, and it is an unorthodox one indeed, as he seems to have come under the wing of Silph's leaders. We now return to footage of the conference, where KTN's Kevin Grisham was present."
By now the camera had moved in close enough for Misty to see her old friend more clearly, and if she hadn't heard the announcer, she might have thought she'd been mistaken. His wardrobe had changed, for one thing. His head was devoid of his trademark cap, and though he still wore a jacket and jeans, they were as black as the T-shirt underneath. More than that, though, there was something weird about his dark brown eyes; they were as vibrant as ever, but there seemed to be something more piercing underneath, almost cold even. Plus, he looked taller, and perhaps a bit more muscular, but that didn't bother her so much; after a year of training, what did you expect? It was everything combined, really, that bugged her….
Including the fact that he hadn't contacted his friends now that his solitude was over. That is so LIKE that idiot!, she thought, her joy having worn slightly off by now.
But no… no, it wasn't; she had to admit that. Then again, he wouldn't have known where to find everyone, would he? Well, he could have called his mother at least… no, he probably had, and Delia just hadn't gotten to anyone else yet, or at least not to her. It had just been last night that this had happened, after all.
Quit acting paranoid, she berated herself, and concentrated on the screen.
"Hi to everyone out there," Ash (and that was another thing… why had the announcer called him by his full name? He almost never used it… then again, the media was always unpredictable) said to the crowd below him. "It's a bit refreshing, I guess, to see so many human faces, especially that I really have something to say to them- something more relevant than the mundane tale of running around grabbing as many Pokemon as you can get."
Alarm bells. That wasn't (or hadn't been) Ash's attitude toward training at all. And he seemed to be speaking differently, too… that thing she had seen in his eyes was in his voice, for one thing. And she didn't think she'd ever even heard him use the words "relevant" or "mundane" before.
"Anyway, to fully understand what I'm about to explain, I guess you'll need to hear the context in which it was formed. So here goes.
"A year ago, as you know, I had just returned from the Hoenn region, but I was still restless as always. After a week at home, I had started to wonder just where my life was going. In an attempt to relieve myself a bit, I went for a bit of solo training one night. I think, by now, I had subconsciously figured out what I needed to do.
"As I walked, I reflected that these were the only times my head truly felt clear: away from the chaos of civilization, only my Pokemon for company. And then it came to me; truly, it was a classic epiphanic moment. The only way I could truly figure out my destiny was to be on my own, free to train myself as well as my Pokemon. And so I left. I know it may seem callous to you, but it seemed to be the only option; and you'll see that I turned out to be at least partially correct.
"My original plan was to go to Mt. Silver, which, being west of Viridian City, was not all that far from my hometown of Pallet. However, I soon comprehended that the hustle and bustle of the Johto League headquarters was not at all suitable for what I had in mind.
"I was about halfway between Viridian and the foothills, trying to figure out what to do, when I met the great man you see before you."
Misty, still reeling from the tale as well as the sophisticated and un-Ash-like words, tried to figure out whom he meant, when one of the people sitting in a row of chairs behind the podium got up and walked to the front. A giant closer to seven feet than six, it seemed, with slick mahogany hair, a chiseled face with a powerful and wry grin, dark eyes, and an orange brass-buttoned suit, with a red tie visible underneath over the collars of a green sweater and a yellow shirt. He seemed familiar somehow….
With a jolt, Misty remembered that he had been with Team Rocket that day in Purity Canyon, and he had looked more like a leader than a prisoner.
"That's him!" Misty spun around at Lily's exclamation. "That's the Viridian Gym Leader… well, was. Isn't he dreamy?"
"I think he's a bit old for you, little sis," Daisy replied with the term usually reserved for the "runt" next to her (who was now about as tall as any of them). "Besides, he always seemed a bit weird to me. He should have rebuilt his gym instead of running this company. How Ash is involved with him, I don't know. Eh- maybe he'll fill us in when we see him."
Misty and Violet only leaned forward (Misty sat down, followed by Daisy) to see what came next. The man spoke.
"I had of course heard of this astute young fellow, but I can't say that I knew all that much about him; I was unfortunately out of town the particular day he visited the Viridian Gym. Though I had left some assistants in charge, as some of you may know, my Gym was attacked by members of the extrasocial organization known as Team Rocket; it was demolished in the resulting battle. I confess that one of my failings has been not focusing more on rebuilding, but, as you will soon see, much larger things have occupied my mind these past few years.
"Anyway, he eventually told me what he was doing, and I realized that he would be a valuable ally in what I had been organizing. He agreed to join me at a training center I had established in the northern mountains as we both tried to get our lives in order. And now, the moment of truth has arrived. If you please, my friend, you should give this announcement."
Ash moved forward again. "Mr. Giovanni has conferred with his fellow Gym Leaders, who are aware of the interest his company has taken in Pokemon technology, and a merger has been set in motion with the whole of the League. As of May 1 of next year, Pokemon activity in this country will be overseen by a completely revamped organization that will move it into a sophisticated new era, the Kanto-Silph Pokemon Confederation!"
Murmuring began throughout the conference hall, some sounding positive, but a good deal more was unsure, and some of the reporters and other visitors even seemed to be glancing at one another as though sharing suspicion.
"This body would regulate not only training, but also oversee breeding, as well as other uses of Pokemon such as electric types used to provide power to outlying regions. And that, my friends, is but the tip of the iceberg. Our colleagues in Johto, and even a few across the seas in Hoenn, have shown some appreciation for this idea, and have expressed the opinion that an all-around union to guide Pokemon-related activity would be a benefit. If developments continue as swimmingly as they are now, it is expected that an international Pokemon Union may be established within five years."
The response from both the media representatives and the general public this time was both louder and, almost on the whole, more joyous; many were disgruntled with the cumbersome and occasionally cold relations between different countries and their Leagues, and had advocated (or hoped for) increased cooperation. To them, this consolidation of authority was long overdue. On the other hand, a very few seemed to be walking right out of the meeting- but they were the only ones there who did not share in the optimism.
"And now"- Giovanni was speaking again- "I bid you all good day, and hope that we will all be united over the coming months in this endeavor to create a new, united world"- he spread his arms- "our world."
Daisy reached over, shut off the TV, and turned to Violet and Lily angrily. "I don't recall hearing anything about this at that League meeting we were called to when we were trying to relax in Spain…."
"Excuse me? I thought I was the Gym Leader then!" Misty interrupted.
"Sorry, this was before you officially took over. But like I said, I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary."
Violet spoke again, though she did not quite meet her older sister's eyes. "Remember that conference I was called to for discussion about Pokemon transport?"
"That was when they talked about this?" Violet only nodded. "Why didn't you tell the rest of us? We're supposed to make decisions like this as a family!"
"They… I guess they all wanted to keep it under wraps until this conference last night."
"But Lily and I… and Misty, too, I guess… are Gym Leaders, for crying out loud! They have a lot of nerve to go behind our backs like this!"
Violet finally looked up and met her sister's glare, and, surprisingly, she had a glare too. "Maybe this is news to you, but no one is 'going behind your back'- because they don't need to. You're not any better than me, or the rest of the Leaders. For that matter, I think this is why they didn't bother to call you. Giovanni actually told me that he saw me as levelheaded, and I think he and the others were trying to tell me that you were too… too like this… too arrogant to accept this, and now I find that they're right! And Lily- please, don't take this as aggression," she told her next sister down, softening her expression somewhat, "but you really aren't experienced enough to handle this sort of thing. I guess I'm a sort of middle ground."
"Yeah, perfect for getting trod on," snapped Misty. "You couldn't have told us about Ash?"
Violet whirled around, her pique suddenly returning. "Why do you think we screamed? I didn't know about him- like I care what this runt says!"
"I don't think Misty really fits that anymore; she really does her share to run the Gym."
"Stay out of this, Lily." Violet stood, and so did the rest. "You three simply don't understand what it takes to get things done. It's not like the League has to vote unanimously on everything like we always did; with so many differing trainers, we'd never get anything done!"
"Screw the way they do it!" Misty had never seen Daisy lose her temper this much. "You say that and call me arrogant? So they can't agree on anything and we can! That just proves we have a stronger bond. We're a family!"
For a moment, it looked as though Violet wanted slap her sister, but restrained herself. "The League is my family," she responded in a voice that could encase a Torkoal in frost, then whirled around and walked briskly out of sight towards a back staricase.
The others stood there for a moment, then Daisy muttered, "I'm going to go back to the pool. You two can do whatever you want." She walked downstairs. A few seconds after she disappeared, Lily ran after her.
Misty stood in the hall, her head settling for a moment, then lifted the TV set and went to put it away.
Seven minutes later she was in her room, placing a call to the Pewter City Gym.
"Hello?" a young boy's voice answered (this isn't one of those videophones).
"Oh, hi, Andrew, it's Misty. Is your brother there?"
"Which one?"
"Brock, of course." She giggled a bit. She'd visited Brock's family often over the past year.
"Oh, hold on."
Misty stretched back on her bed, clutching the cordless handset.
"Misty, is that you?" inquired the voice of the aspiring Pokemon breeder.
"No, silly, it's the Dark Magician Girl!"
"You watch too much TV. And speaking of which, I've actually been meaning to call you."
"If you mean an old friend of ours has been resurrected and is messing with the Pokemon League, then I already know. Did you know anything about it?"
A sigh. "I never bothered to reregister the Gym after I came back. I don't get invited to those meetings anymore."
"Well, I should think they would have asked someone with your experience about this. Not that everyone is so inclusive." Misty explained what had just happened.
"Damn." It was quite possibly the first time she had ever heard Brock swear. "So, what are we supposed to do about it?"
Misty paused. She hadn't actually thought about what to do, if anything; she was so used to Brock dispensing advice when he wasn't fawning over every new girl he met.
"We're going to Saffron City and finding out what's going on… and I'm going to make Ash wish he'd never been born!"