Note: This chapter is based on episode 7.
10: Misty vs. Ash
As they approached the bottom of the steps leading to the imposing Viridian Gym, Misty heard a shout. She grabbed onto her sister's arm, closing her eyes and tensing up. "What is it, Misty?" Daisy asked. Misty opened her eyes and observed her sister. The older girl sighed, yet still had a concerned expression.
Misty had done the same thing back near the station, hanging on tight to her sister when they'd passed the place the rockets had ambushed her after the gym leader meeting six months before. She really had been acting clingy and timid, and her sisters all only teased her when she'd gotten that way when they were younger. "Nothing's wrong!" Misty stood up straight, purposefully stepping away from Daisy as she declared this. "I'm not scared or anything. Not of a bunch of criminals."
"Are you sure there's Team Rocket people around here?" Daisy asked, casually looking around at those present. "I don't see those uniforms, I mean. I didn't the last time, either."
"Who knows why they're not wearing them. But this place is rocket run, and that means that as gym leaders, we're rocket run!" Misty informed.
Daisy still didn't seem concerned as they ascended the stone stairs, going toward the door. Misty felt her heart rate increase, but tried to push back her feelings. "Are the uniforms even that scary?" Daisy mused as they stepped closer.
"No. No way," Misty insisted, still looking around and pausing as they approached the door of Viridian Gym. If any rockets were listening, what would they think?
"They're so plain. And then, just an 'R' on them? Why?" Daisy asked.
"Who knows," Misty spoke with irritation.
"I think maybe a logo would have been better. Since they're Team Rocket, maybe a rocket ship?" Daisy suggested, looking her sister's way.
Misty imagined the 'R' replaced by a rocket ship logo, and then couldn't help but giggle. "They'd look like they were in some preschooler pajamas then!" she declared.
Daisy laughed herself in response to her sister's amusement, then tickled Misty's chin. "Yeah. Don't be so worried about them, Misty."
Misty was going to insist she wasn't, but became silent as Daisy opened the door. Inside, there were a lot more people. Misty was going to study their faces to see if she recognized any as the rockets that had ambushed her, but instead found herself looking at the ground. "Excuse me? We're here for the gym leader meeting," Daisy spoke instead to one of those present.
"Right over there," the woman said, gesturing to the door of the conference room.
"Oh. Right. Let's go." Daisy motioned to Misty, and they walked inside, taking their seats.
At the previous meeting, Misty had initially had so much fun talking to the other gym leaders, finding out where they were from, what they'd themed their gym, what pokemon they had. A lot had very different experiences to her, some finding it easier to keep up their win ratios in outlying areas. She was interested in how they'd been, but the memory of them remaining silent when Misty had been admonished by Giovanni put her in too bad of a mood to even try talking to any of them again. If she called them out on 'warning' her, would they even listen? Or did they think it all was right?
Hardly anyone said anything as they waited, their host being late again. Next to her, Daisy refreshed her make-up while on the other side, someone cleared their throat. None of them seemed to care much about catching up with Misty, or for that matter, any of the other gym leaders either. Were they thinking about the last time? Maybe they'd considered it more, and realized that keeping mum while their challenging trainers were bullied wasn't good. Maybe Misty's words had made a difference.
Eventually, the rocket boss walked in. He was grouchy and seemed rushed, the same as last time. They quickly went through the attendance, and then the entire agenda. Misty didn't even need to talk at all. Her win ratio had gone down from the initial high in the rush of challenges she had gotten, but was still pretty high in the rankings, so no attention was thrown her way on that end. When Giovanni read the complaints, suspiciously lacking anything related to Team Rocket, none were filed against her, so she didn't have to say anything then, either.
As Giovanni declared the meeting was over, several gym leaders left right away. None of them were going to say anything? Misty remained still, perhaps hoping there might be something worth seeing here. Instead, even more filed out. Daisy was adjusting her hair in her compact mirror as Giovanni walked their way.
"You're Daisy of Cerulean, correct?" he said.
"Oh, yeah," Daisy confirmed, carefully putting the mirror back in her bag.
"I thought you'd resigned, or was it just a hiatus?" the rocket boss inquired.
"I resigned. I just came with my sister Misty today so she wouldn't be lonely. It's fine, right?"
"Of course," Giovanni said, nodding at Misty. "Yes, of course, I remember Misty as well. You're still doing fine. Your decorum has also improved. Well done."
"Thanks," Daisy spoke for Misty and waved as she went toward the door. Misty said nothing and followed. Being praised by that person didn't please her at all, in fact it just increased her upset.
As they went through the rest of Viridian Gym, there were a group of uniformed rockets lounging together in a corner. Misty pointed them out to Daisy, who shrugged. They exited without incident. "You saw them," Misty said as they reached the bottom of Viridian Gym's stairs. "Why do you act like it's no big deal."
"Misty, they weren't bothering us. They weren't going to," Daisy said.
"They bother other people plenty! You know that!" Misty accused, raising her voice.
Daisy was unaffected. "You're always getting so worked up, just calm down," she said. "We've got to live and let live, you know?"
"That doesn't apply to people who don't do the same! Team Rocket isn't just living their lives and leaving people alone," Misty pointed out.
An old man that Misty recognized as one of the gym leaders she'd met before approached them. "Misty, are you alright?" he asked.
"It's fine," Daisy again answered for her sister. "She just like, doesn't understand some things yet."
The old man nodded in understanding. "You did fine today, Misty. You handled yourself well."
"I didn't do anything," Misty shouted, not caring how it looked. "Is that being 'fine'? Well I don't want to be 'fine', I want things to get better. I want justice."
As Misty stopped, she realized that many people were staring her way. She'd gotten more attention than just her sister and the other gym leader. Were rockets in the group? Misty stepped back, realizing she was trembling as well. As Daisy touched her shoulder, she jumped in surprise. "It's fine, little sis," the older girl assured. "Let's just go home okay?"
Though Misty was certainly being placated, possibly even condescended to, she decided to just nod and leave. It seemed there was no use coming to these things. No one was going to listen to her. Should she stay home? Giovanni just made excuses for anyone that wasn't there, and no one else seemed to care about the high absentee rate.
Then again, if they were just going to be beneath some criminal boss, going along with anything he said, what was the point of being a gym leader at all?
Back in Cerulean City, Misty found herself feeling mixed feelings. Even though it had been only a little over a month, she'd gotten used to the world outside, and it seemed a while since she'd been back home. Not much seemed to have changed. As she walked through the streets with Ash and Brock, she said hello to the lady selling fruit, the office staff unlocking the clinic, and various younger former classmates on their way to school. They all said how nice it was to see her, and that it had been a while, but Misty still felt a distance.
Things had changed, even in the relatively short time. Everyone had gotten used to having Violet as the new gym leader, and Misty was back to being just Misty. Why had she stopped, where had she gone, what was she doing next? Misty didn't feel much like answering those questions, so tried to blend in as a part of Ash and Brock's group as they hurried along.
It was a relief to approach the pokemon center. In Cerulean, a stream ran through nearby, and it had picnic tables in front, but was otherwise unremarkable. Brock approached the counter, leaning against it as he waited for the nurse. "Hey, Brock," Ash began. "Our pokemon are okay, right? We don't need to give them to the nurse."
"It's worth giving them a check up with a professional," Brock said, leaning forward as he tried to see where the nurse might be.
"I don't know if they need one every time," Ash muttered.
"Probably not, but-" Misty began.
"Oh! Nurse Joy!" Brock exclaimed happily as he saw the nurse down the hall.
"Yes, can I help you?" the nurse asked as she approached the counter.
"I've been kind of busy lately, so I haven't had a chance to get my pokemon checked up," Brock began, putting his pokeballs on the counter. "I just caught a wild one, too. I think everything's fine, but can you look it over?"
"I'd be happy to," the nurse said.
"You caught another? When?" Ash asked.
"While you were deciding if you wanted to join us in the cave or not," Brock informed. "Zubat were everywhere, and I got excited. I'm looking forward to raising it!"
"I should be catching more too," Ash mused, looking down at his two pokeballs before glancing at Pikachu. "Nurse, should I-" Ash paused as he saw the nurse's face. "Wait... You're the lady from the Pewter pokemon center!" he exclaimed.
"Come on, Ash, that's rude." Brock shook his head. "Just because they're related... She's obviously a different person."
"No, she's the same person," Ash insisted.
Misty laughed. "Is the nurse in Pewter your sister?" she asked.
"My cousin," the nurse informed.
"Wow! There's still quite the resemblance. Meanwhile, I don't look like my sisters at all," Misty said.
"No, I do see some similarities," the nurse said.
"Well, not many," Misty said.
"You... You don't think they're the same?" Ash asked, then turned to the nurse. "I'm sorry, I mean, you really look it."
"It's just the family resemblance," Misty said. "Or maybe it's the resemblance, plus the hairstyle and uniform," she mused.
"That could be. You'd look a lot more like your sisters with the same hair and clothes," the nurse said.
"Oh, maybe." Misty laughed. "I, well, I don't think I really want to do that. Not that you don't always look great."
"Thank you," the nurse said.
"You're talking like you know her, are you just not telling me the truth?" Ash asked.
Misty shook her head. "Ash, you'll find a lot of the nurses look similar. There's the uniforms and hairstyle, but also most of them are part of the Joy family. It's just a family tradition to be pokemon nurses, kind of like with gyms being run by families."
"Oh." Ash said nothing else. "So, my pokemon are fine, you don't need to see them, right?" he asked the nurse.
"I can look them over just in case, if you'd like."
"Okay," Ash handed her the two pokeballs.
"And that one?" The nurse looked down at Pikachu. "Did you just catch it?" she asked Misty.
"No, it's my pikachu," Ash interrupted before Misty could answer.
"Okay, can you put it back in its pokeball then?" the nurse asked.
"Um," Ash reached in his pocket, as if for the pokeball, then looked down at pikachu with a pained expression. "No," he finally said.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu questioned. It knew that the pokeball was stored right in Ash's pocket, and had been ready to go in, at least for the moment. Instead, it seemed Ash was considering its feelings.
"Sorry," Ash said, swallowing as he might have offended the woman helping his pokemon. "Yeah, Pikachu really, really doesn't like going in. So I just decided not to put it in at all. Okay?"
"It's no problem," the nurse assured. "Well then Pikachu, would you please come with me?"
"Pikachu," Pikachu called as it hopped on the counter, glancing from side to side.
The nurse laughed. "I'll show you where to go, just follow me, alright?"
"Here's my pokemon as well," Misty placed her own pokeballs next to Ash's. "Thank you, Nurse Joy!"
Ash, Misty and Brock sat down in the lobby, and before long the nurse came back. "Everyone's in great condition!" she informed. The group stood up and thanked her before going back to the trainer area. In the cafeteria, the seats were full.
"Wow," Misty said. "This place usually isn't this busy at all!"
"Maybe we should cook outside," Brock suggested.
"Hey! Ashy boy!"
Ash turned in response to the loud voice. "Gary!" he recognized his friend.
Gary sat, surrounded by girls from Pallet Town, as well as other trainers. He smirked, then tapped a chair next to him. "We got room for you. And those two, too." Gary motioned with his head toward the empty chairs next to the just emptied table. The group with him all got up, pushed another table over, and had three empty chairs. After picking up some food, Ash and Brock joined him.
"Hey Gary, how have you been?" Brock asked.
"Just fine. Didn't expect to see you all the way over here," Gary said.
"Yeah, I'm doing some traveling since my dad took over the gym," Brock explained.
"Wait, you know Gary?" Ash asked.
"Yeah," Brock confirmed. "You know, he was the first Pallet Town trainer to win against me, before you did."
"You have the Boulder Badge too?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, you mean you do?" Gary asked. He turned to Brock, elbowing him and snickering. "Beginner's luck, huh? Or did your old man lose?"
"It was me," Brock admitted. "Ash did have some trouble, but he really worked hard."
"Hard work only goes so far." Gary smiled and shook his head. "Let's all congratulate Ash on his win," he raised his voice to address the rest of the table.
"Nice job Ash!"
"Congratulations!" others in the group expressed similar sentiments.
"Yeah," Gary said. "Gotta celebrate the wins, while you can."
Somehow, even with the well wishes, Ash felt irritated. "So you want the badge from Cerulean Gym now, huh?" Ash said.
"Done." Gary took out his badge case, flipping it open and showing three badges inside. He put his chin up. "I got the badge from this city a while ago, I'm just doubling back before I go to the next gym."
"Oh!" Misty exclaimed as she sat down next to Brock. "You've got the Cascade Badge from here!"
"That's right," Gary said.
"You're Ash's friend?" Misty asked.
"We're both from the same town," Gary said. "I'm really going places, though, so." Gary glanced at Ash before back at Misty, a smirk on his face.
"Come on Gary, that's enough!" Ash said.
"Ashy boy, want some tips?" Gary asked. Without Ash confirming he did, he continued. "Yeah, I'd rate this Cerulean girl as the least difficult of every gym leader I battled, but she's probably still too much for you." As Ash tensed up, Gary put up a finger, getting in his friend's face. "Oh! That's right! Your starting pokemon was that pikachu, right? So maybe you'll be fine." Gary got up, carrying his tray as he kicked his chair back into place. "If it listens to you. It can't listen much, huh?" Gary raised an eyebrow as he turned to Pikachu, who was in the corner poking at a piece of trash. "Well, I guess that's enough advice. Smell you later, Ashy boy."
"I don't..." Ash stopped, putting his hand up and trying to subtly smell it. "I don't smell," he said in a low voice. The others at the table were also cleaning up, following Gary and seemingly not listening to Ash.
"Sometimes you do," Misty said.
"I don't," Ash insisted. He turned back to his meal, but didn't feel like having any of it. "I guess Gary knows about Pikachu being special. Professor Oak didn't even tell me."
"I don't know, but he was probably referring to the fact Cerulean Gym has a water theme, including water type pokemon," Brock said.
"So there's a type advantage!" Ash exclaimed. "Yeah, with Pikachu I'll probably win really easily." Ash began to eat his food, going through it quickly now.
"Don't get a big head before you've even tried!" Misty warned. She folded her arms. "When you wanted to battle Brock, you acted like type advantages don't matter much. And now because of one you're acting like you've won before you walked in the gym!"
"Yeah, they're not everything, but they do matter," Ash said. "Plus Pikachu is already powerful."
"Like your friend said, sometimes it doesn't even listen," Misty pointed out.
Ash's shoulders slumped and he sighed as he observed Gary talking outside the door. "I don't know if he's my friend anymore," he said. "Why's he acting like he's so great now?"
"He was annoying, but I didn't want to say anything," Misty admitted. "Just don't forget not to get too ahead of yourself!"
"Misty, did they not have enough food left?" Brock observed his friend hadn't taken anything.
"Oh, no, that's not it," Misty said. "I just decided, especially since this place is so full, I'll just go spend the night in Cerulean Gym. I'll get to see my sisters. I'll have dinner with them."
"Oh, yeah, that's right. See you later, Misty!" Brock called.
"See you, Brock! I'll see you in the gym tomorrow, you're going, right?" Misty asked.
"I'm going," Ash confirmed. "I mean, I'll sign up and everything."
"Then I'll see you then! Bye!" Misty waved before she left.
Ash sat in silence a moment before he spoke. "It's weird when girls just call any girls their 'sisters', huh?"
Before Brock could answer, Gary came back into the room. "Hey, Ashy boy, my gramps said you should call him."
"Okay," Ash agreed. He quickly finished his meal and went back into the lobby where the pay phones were, being sure to check in with his sponsor.
Meowth, Jessie, and James walked over the bridge toward the large gym. "Wow," Meowth said as it looked up at the large, domed building, decorated with a giant model of a seel. "This place is even fancier than the boss's. What are they gonna do with a place this big?"
"Let's just do what we came to do before we're noticed," Jessie said.
They looked around, eventually finding the box that held the sign up and scheduling book. As James lifted the top to get it, Jessie stopped him. "Someone else is coming," she said, motioning toward the front.
They hustled away, going behind a pillar. A girl walked right past them, seeming not noticing their presence at all. She opened the door to the gym without stopping and went in. "That girl looks familiar," James said.
"She's the little twerp girl that was with Pikachu's trainer," Jessie pointed out.
"Oh, right," James said. "But I don't see him or Pikachu." They paused, watching the path to the gym, but no one else came.
"Is he inside already?" Meowth asked.
"Aren't they closed?" Jessie asked.
"Let's check," James said, grabbing the book from its place and looking inside. "Right, their challenge time ended already." He flipped forward a few days. "I don't see that other twerp's name."
"But if she's here, why wouldn't he be?" Meowth asked.
"I bet he's on his way. But maybe not tonight. Let's go," Jessie said.
Meowth observed the building as they left. "This place is sure fancier than the last, and even the last place had good pokemon," it pointed out.
"You think we should get the ones here?" James asked.
"What about the pikachu?" Jessie followed.
"We'll just get them all. The boss was happy with the last ones, but he wants more, right? So let's take 'em all!" Meowth declared. It pointed to a poster that advertised the shows the gym put on. "Yeah, look at all these," it said, hopping up to point to the pictures of various water type pokemon. "The boss'll be happy with all these for sure."
"As long as you have a plan, because we sure can't beat all those by ourselves!" Jessie said, tapping the various pokemon in the poster in turn.
Meowth turned and walked on. "You can count on me," it said.
"Misty!" As Misty walked in the kitchen, her sisters stood up from the table and approached her, smiles on their faces.
"Hey... I wasn't gone for that long," Misty said as Violet and Lily both hugged her at once. "I don't need you to act like this."
"Come on, we're just happy to see our baby sister," Violet said with a wink.
"Come on, sit with us," Daisy invited. "We worry about you, you know."
"Are you done with zipping around the world on your bike?" Lily asked as they all took a seat around the table.
"No! I'm just visiting... My bike broke anyway," Misty said.
Daisy laughed, getting up from the table and grabbing something from the fridge. As she started the microwave, she shook her head. "Misty, already? How are you going to travel without it?"
"It wasn't my fault," Misty insisted. "But, yeah. I'm traveling with another gym leader on hiatus. And someone else, my student, I guess."
"You guess?" Violet repeated.
"He's not listening to me, okay?" Misty said.
Lily tittered. "You're just bossing some trainer around, aren't you?" she said.
"It's not like that," Misty said, her face turning red. Her sisters really knew how to get to her. "Look, I'm not ready to come home yet. There's still a lot I want to do."
"Sure," Daisy agreed.
"But Violet, what about you? How are you doing as the gym leader?" Misty asked.
"She's doing great," Daisy said. As the microwave went off, she placed the food in front of Misty. "Much better than me, anyway," she added.
"Yeah," Violet confirmed. "I'm using Seaking and Seel, they're really good."
"Huh?" Misty stopped before taking a bite of her food. "Hey, wait, you said you were going to use Goldeen and Seaking! Like I used Staryu and Starmie!"
"Yeah, well, it just didn't work." Violet rested her head against her hand. "I mean, how many times can you surprise someone with 'oh, now here's the evolved form'? They all talk in the pokemon center, so they all know anyway. Goldeen just couldn't cut it. Seel's our mascot."
Misty slammed her hand on the table. "If you don't want it, I'm taking it with me," she said. "Goldeen is super sweet!"
"It's not like we neglect it," Violet said with a laugh.
"Yeah, Goldeen loves swimming in our shows," Lily confirmed.
"That's fine, but Goldeen needs to stay in practice with battles! It's a battling pokemon, and I caught it. So it's going with me," Misty declared.
"It's fine, Misty. Take it if you'd like," Daisy said.
"I will." Misty glanced around, daring her sisters to say something else.
"You really take things too seriously," Daisy commented.
"Doesn't she?" Violet said.
"Yeah, I know!" Lily agreed.
Misty sharply inhaled before quickly exhaling, then continued her meal. They really knew how to annoy her alright. At least once Ash was done she could leave. Despite wanting Ash to take the battle seriously before, Misty almost hoped a smug, inexperienced trainer would beat Violet now. It would be annoying to hear him afterward, but then she'd just leave.
"I'll get that for you, Misty," Daisy said, grabbing the plate as Misty finished.
Lily sat next to her, patting her arm and hugging her again. "We really were worried about you. We hope you're feeling better now."
Misty said nothing to that. They didn't seem to have the same level of concern as her for certain things, but that didn't mean those things weren't of any concern. Since she couldn't convince them of that, Misty stood up. "I want to see everyone," she said, referring to their family's pokemon.
"Are you ready for a swim?" Lily asked.
"Of course!" Misty said. She decided to put all her energy into giving the gym's pokemon, and even her sisters, a fun and cheerful time. Anything else could be put off, at least for the rest of the day.
"Is this the gym?" Ash said, looking up from his map to the colorful building. "It looks more like a circus."
"Pika pika?" Pikachu observed the large model of the seel above the gym. "Chu?" It tilted its head. Was there a pokemon that big inside?
"Cerulean Gym isn't just a gym, it doubles as a place for performances," Brock informed. "Though, I don't know if they call it a circus." He took out a pamphlet, looking at the picture of the older three sisters inside. "Maybe we can stay and see later."
"Hey, Ash!" Misty greeted, walking out of the building as Ash went for the scheduling book. "Hey, don't bother with that. I know Violet has nothing to do, so I bet she'll just battle you now."
"You think so?" Ash asked. "Okay." He put the book back and followed Misty inside.
They went down a hall surrounded by aquariums. "Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, hopping up to look inside.
"There's so many different fish," Ash commented.
"This place is really nice, Misty," Brock said.
"Pikapika!" Pikachu hopped to the other side of the hall to look at the different fish on the other side.
Misty nodded with satisfaction at the reaction, pausing to admire the displays herself. "Yeah, there needs to be a lot to keep the patrons coming back. It takes a lot of upkeep, too."
Ash saw the sign for gym challenges on the next door. "Come on, Pikachu," he goaded, motioning the pokemon forward.
"Pika." Pikachu looked from the fish back at its trainer several times. Why would Ash want to move away from something so interesting? As Misty opened the door to the battle area, it heard some other interesting sounds, including pokemon voices and splashing and decided to join the humans as they walked in.
"Misty!" Daisy greeted. All three sisters sat at the edge of the pool, feet in, as several water-type pokemon swam.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, running and then jumping in.
"Hey, wait!" Violet exclaimed. "Is that your pokemon?" she asked Ash. "Pikachu can't really swi..." She stopped herself, seeing Pikachu happily swimming from one side of the pool to the other. It reached the step and laughed, standing partially in the water and splashing up water with its tiny arms and calling to the water type pokemon that swam by.
"Wow," Lily said. "This Pikachu is something. I've seen other pokemon with tiny little limbs like that have trouble in the pool."
"Yeah, Pikachu's good at a lot of things," Ash said. He clenched his fist now, staring at the girls. "I'm Ash, from Pallet Town! I challenge you to a gym battle for your badge!"
"Misty, is this your 'student'?" Lily asked.
"Oh, well," Misty looked away awkwardly, knowing Ash would certainly object to that description. And of course, maybe it hadn't been 100% accurate in the first place.
"I never knew Misty was a teacher," Ash said.
"Yeah, I've been traveling with Ash for a little bit," Misty decided to say. "Oh, and this is Brock. He's the gym leader from Pewter I told you about."
"Hi," Brock said, his voice low.
"Nice to meet you both," Daisy said, and Misty's other two sisters expressed their agreement.
"A gym battle, huh. Yeah, let's get that over with, there's other things to do." Violet stood up, returning the water type pokemon to their pokeballs. Misty and her sisters did the same with their pokemon, before going in the spectator's area.
"Pi?" Pikachu noticed the other pokemon going away. It followed the example and hopped out of the pool, shaking off the excess water.
"So, Ash is the challenger?" Violet said, stepping to her spot in front of the pool. She glanced down at Pikachu before back at Ash. "That's not your pokemon, is it?"
"It is," Ash admitted, hoping she wouldn't start talking about how it needed to be in its pokeball.
"Oh, no." Violet sighed. "It's so healthy too. Seems really, really energetic." Violet pursed her lips as she peered upward, then looked back at Ash and smiled. "I know! How about I just give you the badge?"
"Huh?" Misty stood up, putting her hand on the rail and leaning forward.
"Yeah, no one's here since it's early, and we're busy, anyway," Violet reasoned. "Plus that Pikachu would just knock out poor Seel and Seaking... Yeah, I'll just say you won the battle, and you can have the badge. How's that?"
"Um.. We didn't battle, though," Ash said.
"It sounds good to me," Daisy said, standing up and tossing her hair.
"Yeah, it's so annoying when we know the gym's going to lose. Good idea, Violet," Lily said.
"Really. Well-" Ash began.
"What is this?!" Misty demanded, stomping her foot as she went over to Violet. "You're supposed to be the gym leader! This is how you defend the gym's status?"
"My win ratio's pretty good. I was just thinking, since I know I'll lose, you know?" Violet said, her hand up. "Let me find the badge..."
"That's enough of that," Misty said. She shook her head as Violet met her gaze. "You don't know anything until it's done. Ash is an inexperienced trainer. Nothing's guaranteed. You're supposed to give him a challenge, not just say he's too much of a challenge for you!"
"Well," Violet began guiltily, looking back at Ash. "You don't mind, do you?" she said.
"I did think I was gonna battle," Ash began sheepishly.
"Well," Violet dug in her pocket. "Here's the-"
"Fine," Misty shouted. "If you won't battle him, I will!"
"Oh," Daisy said. "You want to come back then?"
"Student vs. teacher?" Lily teased.
Misty blushed, then glared at her sisters. "I'm serious. I won't let you just give away a win."
"Well, if you feel that strongly," Daisy said, looking at Violet as she twisted some hair around her finger.
"Yeah, no problem from me," Violet said, stepping away from the challenger's area.
"Wait," Ash began. "Don't you need to be a gym leader to um, fight as a gym leader."
"I am a gym leader!" Misty exclaimed. "I was already active for a whole year, and I can come back from my hiatus any time!"
"It's true, Ash," Brock said with a nod. "When a gym leader leaves, it might be a resignation, if their win ratio has fallen too low. That way, their reputation will no longer be held against the gym. But Misty had a really good win ratio, so she just went on hiatus, like me. Either of us can go back at any time."
"Wait..." Ash's eyes widened. "You're actually a gym leader?!"
"Why do you seem so surprised," Misty said with a sigh. "Didn't I say so before? You knew my sister was the current gym leader, anyway."
"You're Misty's real sisters?!" Ash exclaimed again. His brow furrowed. "You don't seem alike at all."
The older girls laughed as they took a spot in the spectator's area. "It's true, isn't it. Misty's the little tomboy of our family," Violet said.
"Come on," Misty muttered.
"Well, it doesn't matter." Ash smiled at Misty. "I've been ready for a battle with the gym leader today. So I'll go against whoever it is!"
"Glad you're ready," Misty said. She stepped onto the gym leader's podium, taking out a pokeball. "Let's go. This will be a two-on-two battle. Go, Staryu," she ordered, throwing out the pokeball.
"Got it! Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted, pointing forward. Staryu appeared, spinning in the air before landing on a platform in the battlefield pool. However, no one jumped on the platform across from it. Ash turned around, looking for his pokemon. "Uh, Pikachu?" he said.
"Pi?" Pikachu had followed the majority of the humans to the spectator's area.
"Come on, Pikachu! It's time to battle! You like the pool, right?" Ash asked.
Pikachu studied the pool, where the sisters had placed out the floating platforms in decoration, realizing it had been there before. It hadn't seen the aquariums outside, since it had been in a pokeball, but it had already battled and won the badge here with its previous trainer. It looked to Daisy, recalling that she had been the one, the gym leader with the curly blonde hair. "Pikachu!" it called to her.
"Your trainer's calling, Pikachu," the girl said, mostly amused.
No, she didn't remember it. It was just another pikachu to her. But Pikachu had already battled here, sent out by its trainer in a situation almost identical to this. It recalled its trainer telling it to "get 'em", and Pikachu had complied, shocking the two water types over and over in succession before its trainer had shouted in victory. He praised Pikachu, calling it the best pokemon ever. Then the gym leader had called it cute. Pikachu had felt truly valued then. Then again, back then it never even wasted time considering if it was a valuable pokemon or not.
What had happened?
"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash shouted, frowning as he ran over, resting his head on the floor of the raised spectator's area, face to face with the pokemon. "What is it? Come on! Let's get 'em!" Hearing Ash's words, Pikachu felt frozen a moment. "Pikachu?" Ash said.
"Pika," Pikachu called, running away before it hopped up on Brock's lap. "Pikachu!" it cheered, waving its arms toward the platform.
"Looks like Pikachu's not going to battle for you! You knew this might happen, right?" Misty grinned as she spoke. "Thanks, Pikachu! Now let's go, Ash. You can't expect one pokemon to carry you. Get back here, let's start this battle for real."
"Fine," Ash said, walking back toward the challenger's area. "Pidgeotto, I choose you! Let's battle!" Ash said as he threw out the pokeball. It landed on the platform before being drawn back toward his hand as the pokemon appeared.
"Pidgeotto!" it called.
"Staryu, bubble beam!" Misty ordered.
"Pidgeotto, whirlwind attack!" Ash shouted.
Staryu's attack hit first, causing Pidgeotto to descend slightly, though it kept flying in the air, eventually performing its technique, flapping its wings rapidly and blowing wind toward its opponent. Misty also felt it, digging her feet onto the title. Staryu flipped around several times, landing in the water. It came right back out. "Alright, Staryu! Tackle!" Misty called as soon as she saw it.
"Pidgeotto, sand attack," Ash said.
"There's no sand," Misty pointed out tersely.
Staryu attacked, spinning in a circle as it hit the flying type. Pidgeotto called out loudly, sinking in the air, but it remained airborne before performing its attack. Despite there not being many stray particles around, Pidgeotto moved its wings, the wind of its attack hitting Staryu directly. Misty's pokemon faltered, floating to the ground. "Is it bothering you?" she asked. "Take a dip, and then swift attack!"
Staryu descended into the pool. "Um, Pidgeotto?" Ash began as their opponent pokemon was nowhere in sight. "Try whirlwind again."
Staryu shot out of the pool, and sprung around. As it did, the star-shaped pokemon's light appeared, moving Pidgeotto's way. The flying type pokemon cried as it was hit, falling toward the ground.
Ash returned it before it hit. "So Ash, there's one," Misty said, hands on her hips. "Do you have your next one ready?"
"Yeah, of course I do." Ash put Pidgeotto's pokeball back in his pocket, reaching for another. Before he could throw it out, the lights went off. "What happened?" Ash asked.
Misty felt some annoyance at first. Then she felt someone grab her arms. First one, and then the other, they took Staryu and Starmie's pokeballs. "Hey!" Misty shouted. Where were the other pokeballs? Her sisters put them somewhere obvious, but she couldn't see at all.
"Misty?" Ash called.
"Are you okay?" Brock asked, then hearing something in front of him. A click turned on a flashlight, but the only thing it lit up was the face of a feline pokemon.
Meowth stood on top of the banister of the spectator's area, on the edge so both the spectators and two competitors could see it. "Hello everyone! You remember me, don't you?"
"A puppet?" Violet mused.
"I'm no puppet!" Meowth said.
"It's that pokemon from Team Rocket!" Misty informed. "Why does the only talking pokemon I've met have to be such a jerk?"
"Pokemon don't talk, Misty," Daisy dismissed her sister's words.
"This one does!" Misty said. She realized the people that had taken her pokemon must be the humans this pokemon was normally with. "Where's Jessie and James?! I know they have my pokemon!"
"Jessie? James?" Meowth acted confused. "Oh, I don't know where those two specifically might be. I've got agents all over this building! Too many to keep track of, you know? We just swarmed the place!"
"Ah-" Misty began, choking up on her words. Were there really that many rocket agents here? In what was not just the Cerulean Gym, but her home? "You need to get out of here!" Misty shouted.
Meowth just laughed. "Yeah, get out, sure. After you all give us every single one of your pokemon. Put your pokeballs down at your feet. And Pikachu, you can crawl into this net, right here. If you don't, well, we easily outnumber you. You don't wanna get hurt, right? Hurry up, then we can leave." With that, Meowth clicked off the flashlight, leaving them in the dark again.
They really were here, and none of her pokeballs were on hand, Misty realized. Since she was the closest to the door, they must have grabbed hers first, but the rest should still have theirs, and Pikachu was already right out there. "Don't listen to them!" Misty shouted.
"Right, calm down," Daisy said. "There's no need to fight, we'll just put down our pokeballs here."
Misty heard the clink of the objects on the ground. "Stop it!" she begged. "You can fight them!"
"Not if they outnumber us, Misty," Brock's voice echoed through the darkness. "It's not worth getting hurt. We'll deal with it later." After he spoke, there were several more clacks, each one a different pokeball on the ground.
Misty shouted out in frustration. How was it not worth it? It wasn't like they were taking some objects, they were taking their pokemon, their friends, and who knew what would happen to the poor creatures after that. "You're just going to listen to them? You'll just do what they say because it's 'not worth it'?!" she demanded.
"Pikachu." Ash's voice rang out next. "Pikachu, can you start your thundershock? I can't see you."
"Pika," Pikachu called. Its cheeks sparked, and it realized why Ash had asked for that action. It saw the boy's face clearly, right where he had been begging it to join the battle. Pikachu stopped the technique before completing it as Ash walked closer.
Ash reached over and stroked the pokemon's cheeks. "Great job, Pikachu," he praised. He pulled his hand away. "Can you try that again?"
"Pika," Pikachu agreed, again starting, but not completely performing the thundershock technique. It looked with Ash across the room, seeing, in the brief flash of light, Jessie and James, wearing some goggles, reaching for the pokeballs that had been placed on the ground. Ash lunged toward them, pushing their arms away.
Jessie and James dropped the two pokeballs they'd been carrying as he did. "Damn it!" Jessie swore.
"Pikachu, get ready," Ash ordered. His pokemon again began the precursor to the thundershock attack, its cheeks lighting up as it hopped toward the rocket agents.
"Hey!" Jessie shouted. "There's fifty or so elite rocket trainers all around this gym. Do you really want to pick a fight?"
Ash didn't pay much attention to her, just looking around in the temporary light. He soon found what he was looking for. "Pikachu," he began, pointing to Meowth, who was now on the ground. "Thunderbolt, now!"
"What?" Meowth said. "Oh, no, no! Jessie, James, you two hurry up, get out your pokemon!"
The two rocket agents threw their pokeballs out, and Ekans and Koffing appeared. "Pika CHUU!" Pikachu called as it attacked, hitting both pokemon. Koffing immediately started to float to the ground. James took out his pokeball and returned it.
Brock picked up his pokeballs, throwing one of them out. "Go, Geodude!" he said. "Tackle!" he ordered as it appeared. Geodude flung itself at Ekans, which cried out in pain.
"Pikachu, thunderbolt, to that ekans now! We'll get that one too!" Ash declared.
"Meowth! You said we wouldn't have to deal with this," Jessie accused.
"I think we're outmatched," James said.
"Hey, James, shut up already!" Meowth said. As Pikachu's cheeks sparked, lighting up the room, the girls in the spectator's area also started to pick up their pokeballs. "Let's get out of here!" It shouted, going for the door. Jessie returned Ekans, soon following with James.
"Good job, Pikachu," Ash complimented. The lights came back on, and Violet came back in the room. "Hey, Misty, what's with you?" Ash asked. The girl sat on the ground, pulling her knees up to her chin. Ash picked the pokeballs off the floor and handed them to her. "Here. They didn't get your pokemon," he said. Misty nodded, taking them from him and holding them close.
Brock approached, tapping the younger boy on the shoulder. "So Ash, you called their bluff," he said.
"Called what? What does that mean?" Ash asked.
"It means you figured they were lying, and acted like they were," Brock said. "Maybe I should have known too. I never saw them with any other rocket agents. Are they even part of Team Rocket?"
"They are," Misty declared. She dusted off her shorts as she stood up, glaring at Brock and her sisters. "They're from Team Rocket. That group does all kinds of things like this. And you were all ready to just lay down and take it from them!"
"Misty, it's okay now," Violet assured, tapping her sister's shoulders.
"Get away," Misty said, shaking away Violet and moving away from her other sisters who came over to comfort her. "I don't care if it's okay now! All I care about is that you and everyone else just lets Team Rocket do what they want. It's not right! We should stand up against them! We should fight them! We should shut them down now, completely, for good!"
Misty's sisters wore various concerned expressions, but still didn't respond to what she said for a few moments until Lily finally spoke. "I understand how you feel, Misty, but it's a huge criminal group from what I know. We can't make a difference ourselves, we should just be happy we're safe today," she said.
"If everyone who could, everyone who had power, stood up to them, they'd be gone tomorrow!" Misty accused.
"It's not really that simple, Misty," Daisy said.
"Why not?" Ash spoke up. "I think we should do what Misty says. She's right!"
Misty looked over at Ash with surprise. She'd only been thinking of her fellow gym leaders and sisters as possible allies, but here this boy was, becoming the first to outwardly agree with her on this topic. Before, no one had even talked much about what she'd said, much less declared her 'right' about what was obviously the truth. She'd started to think she might be wrong. But was it so plain that even this seemingly dense kid could see it?
"Let's fight them! We'll take them down! Where do we go?" Ash asked.
Lily closed her eyes and sighed. "How about we go to the kitchen?" she suggested. "We can calm down with some tea."
"Sounds good," Brock said.
"I'll check around the building," Daisy said.
"I'll come," Violet said.
"And me," Brock quickly added. Everyone there ended up looking around the gym, seeing no one else around before heading to the kitchen. Misty sat down, clenching her fists. "Seems like they're really gone, but should I call the police?" Brock asked.
"Why bother?" Misty said.
"I'll tell them later," Daisy said.
"No, why bother!" Misty shouted this time, standing up and hitting the table.
"It's okay Misty, there's no one around, they left," Violet assured, putting up her hands.
Misty continued despite her sister patronizing her. "They ambushed me in Viridian when I was by myself. I told the police, they wouldn't even file a report. They said it just sounded like a pokemon battle. They won't do anything."
"Let's go fight them. I'm for it," Ash said, clenching his fists and staring Misty's way seriously.
Misty sat down, remaining silent a few more moments in her surprise. There he went again. Just having someone agree with her, go along with her, wasn't something she was used to. On top of that, something felt odd about listening to Ash do so.
"Everything okay, Misty?" Violet asked.
"Um, yeah," Misty said. She looked back over to her younger friend. "Don't worry about it, Ash. Just keep training."
"Huh? You were just saying like you wanted to go fight them!" Ash said, annoyance evident in his voice.
"I know. But just forget about it," Misty said.
"Why? Weren't you serious?" Ash asked.
"Yeah Misty, it does seem like a change of heart," Daisy said.
"No," Misty said, glancing from Ash back to her sister. "I mean, Team Rocket needs people fighting against them, but, just look at him." Everyone present now looked at Ash. "He's such a wide-eyed, silly little kid. And he wants to go to war against Team Rocket..." Misty sighed.
"I'm not being silly! And I'm ten already!" Ash protested. "I'm really mad at them, too. I saw them trying to steal pokemon four, five times by now! I'll stop them for good!"
Misty could only feel a sense of vicarious embarrassment at Ash's determined energy. "It's okay," she said. "You should go train before you think about that. Your pokemon need to be more powerful."
"Well, maybe," Ash tentatively agreed. "Yeah, I'll keep training."
After that, Lily came pouring some tea. Daisy began to make some sandwiches for lunch. When Ash left for the restroom, Misty started talking. "He's acting too big for his boots. Listen to that kid!" she said. Her sisters laughed together. "What is it? It's not that funny, I'm worried!"
"Hmm," Violet paused, holding her drink in the air. "I guess we were thinking of another kid that acts too big for her boots."
Misty shook her head. "It's not the same for me! I was working with pokemon even before I officially became a trainer! I'm a highly ranked gym leader! And also, I'm eleven! Eleven and a half by now, really!" she insisted. Her sisters only tittered in response, annoying Misty further.
"Yeah, Misty." Brock gave her a calm smile. "I know, I mean, I get what you're saying. You're not wrong about Team Rocket, really. You're not even wrong about people who could be taking action doing nothing instead. It's just, the way you see Ash, I'm not saying it is, but just think about it. That could be the way some people see you."
Could it? Misty recalled herself confronting the gym leaders at the meeting. She was actually fairly close to Ash's age back then. Maybe, instead of seeing her as a revolutionary, a leader to a righteous cause, they had seen her as just a dumb little kid, the same as Ash. Misty blushed as she thought of it. She shook off her feelings as said kid walked back in. "Ash, I'm coming with you," she said.
"You are already," Ash pointed out as he sat down and started to eat.
"Yeah, but this time it's not because you owe me something," Misty said. "I want to become more powerful too. I can do some training with you. And also, you're going to go to other gyms, right?"
"Yeah," Ash confirmed.
"I'm going to get more allies as I go where you go, maybe," Misty said. At least she'd hear why the other gym leaders just sat around passively while Giovanni did whatever. Since most of them didn't even show up to those meetings, maybe they didn't even know what was going on. "I mean, Team Rocket's around, and always showing up around you, so we might as well travel together."
"It might be wise. I'll stick with you as well for now," Brock said.
"Thanks, Brock," Daisy said with a smile.
"Sure," Brock said, his voice going lower. He cleared his throat.
"Here, Misty talking about gym stuff reminded me," Violet said. She dropped a Cascade Badge on the table in front of Ash.
"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "Oh, wait, yeah, we never finished the battle."
"It's okay." Violet waved her hand dismissively, a smile on her face. "This is thanks for helping us."
"Oh, no," Misty insisted, standing up and reaching for the badge, just missing it before Ash took it off the table. "I was winning that battle, if you remember."
"Well, there's like, you know, the pikachu. If Ash used it, he would have won for sure," Lily said.
"Yeah, totally," Violet said.
"Are you going to give everyone a badge based on a what if scenario?" Misty asked.
"No. This is the only time," Violet said, peering away.
"You're lying! I can tell!" Misty said in dismay. How many false losses had been contributed to her sister, and by extension, her gym?
Ash had already pinned the badge inside his vest. "Thanks, Violet," he said.
Misty sighed. She'd already argued enough that day. "Fine, just put the loss on your record, not mine," she said.
"Of course," Violet agreed.
"Did you hear, Pikachu? We got a badge!" Ash leaned down, bragging to Pikachu.
"Pi?" Pikachu looked up from the sugar cube it had been nibbling on.
"And next, we're going - we're gonna get more badges, more pokemon, and get even more powerful. Team Rocket, watch out!"
End notes: So Misty gets a reason other than "my bike" to go with Ash. Expect more follow up with what's introduced here.
Next chapter: Giselle vs. Ash