CHAPTER 6: A Planner in the Works

Ash eyed the pokéball rolling around the palm of his hand. Both sides were down to two pokémon now, though the fight was far from over. The Elite Qualifier was every bit as challenging as he'd expected, and the prospect of battling two Elite Four members simultaneously still as exciting even now, at the halfway point of said showdown. In a way, it almost seemed wrong to win – but that sure as hell wouldn't stop him.

"Looks like you're up again, Krookodile," he smiled at the ball before hurling it upwards. "Go!"

Krookodile appeared several feet away from Totodile, just like before. The tightness with which his short arms were folded suggested his forced removal earlier had irked him somewhat.

"Slowbro, come on out!" Lorelei mirrored. On the battlefield before her, the pokéball's white light compressed into a chubby, bipedal, dinosaur-like shape.

"I knew she'd use Slowbro," Misty squealed.

Karen pointed forward. "Honchkrow, Sucker Punch on Totodile!"

Her avian pokémon swooped across the arena, and though still hindered by the Scary Face attack, by no means did that make it a slow hitter. Ash called for Totodile to dodge the attack, but in just seconds, Honchkrow had swept up the little reptilian pokémon with a black streak of energy originating from its wing.

"Sucker Punch is a move that always hits first," Brock commented. "But it fails if the opponent is not readying an attack. Totodile would've been unaffected if Ash had done nothing."

"Are you okay, Totodile?" Ash called out.

His pokémon stumbled when getting up, but quickly broke into another dance.

"Totototototototo…!'

"Okay, then, run up Krookodile and use Slash!"

Krookodile looked around, affronted by the very idea. As Totodile scampered behind him to leap up his back scales, the prideful Intimidation Pokémon lifted up his thick tail at the last second, causing his teammate to slam his face right into it and fall over.

"What?!" Ash gasped. "Krookodile, why'd you do that?!"

Over his shoulder, Krookodile just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"I take it these two pokémon have never battled together before, hmm?" Lorelei observed. "Slowbro, use that to your advantage with Surf!"

"Honchkrow, fly up!"

The two pokémon acted in perfect synchronisation. Slowbro waved its pink arms to summon a tidal wave the entire width of the battlefield, while Honchkrow soared above the attack to avoid being hit.

"Uh-oh," Ash mumbled. "Krookodile, use Dig! Totodile, jump in the hole after him!"

With his powerful claws, Krookodile mashed and pounded at the hard stone surface. An opening gradually formed, and his body disappeared through the makeshift tunnel he had created. As Ash had instructed, Totodile bounded down into the tunnel alongside Krookodile with only seconds to spare.

"Quick, use your Stone Edge to block up the hole!"

The sharp stones were released from the rings around Krookodile's body, clumping together to seal up the orifice just as the wave rolled over the top. Despite each stone holding firm, a gap remained in the covering, into which water spilled violently.

"That water's going to do massive damage to Krookodile if it keeps getting in that hole," Brock said with concern.

The scheming Krookodile, however, knew this just as well, and, unfazed, reached up to plug the gap with the first thing he had to hand.

"Totoooooo!" Totodile cried, his tail and hind legs buffeted by the raging water.

Ash did a double take. "Huh?! Krookodile, stop it! Get Totodile out of there now!"

Karen, meanwhile, saw this as an opportunity to strike. "Drill Peck, Honchkrow, while it's exposed!"

Totodile could hear the attack coming as the wave passed over. He squirmed and wriggled, but would not budge, and Krookodile just sat there smirking at him. Instinctively, the Big Jaw Pokémon unleashed an intense Water Gun attack, dousing Krookodile but creating enough pressure to propel him right out of the hole. As luck would have it, too, the technique sent him so high into the air that Honchkrow flew right underneath him.

"Kroourrghk," winced Krookodile, having taken a super-effective attack from its pesky ally.

"What's going on?" Ash said to himself. "Totodile and Krookodile have done less damage to Lorelei or Karen's pokémon than they have to each other!"

"This is worrying," Misty sighed. "It's like Charizard all over again."

Ash shook off his doubts and turned back to the action. "Krookodile, keep digging! Totodile, grab onto Honchkrow with Bite!"

A crashing sound followed by a worming trail of raised earth across the stadium confirmed that Krookodile was on the move. At the same time, Totodile leapt upwards, and with his powerful jaw, sank his teeth deep into Honchkrow's leg.

"Kroooooow!" it wailed in pain.

"Shake him off, Honchkrow!" Karen said. The bird whooshed in wide circles around the arena, but Totodile's grip kept him clamped on like a vice.

"Slowbro, Amnesia," Lorelei calmly ordered. As Krookodile's tunnel spiralled round in front of it, Slowbro cocked his head sluggishly to the side. A number of blue question marks appeared around its head, and when it tapped the ground with its foot, they floated straight over to the raised mound and burst like bubbles upon it.

"What was that?" Ash said, though when Krookodile showed no sign of slowing down, he shrugged it off. "Oh well. Now, Krookodile, break out behind Slowbro!"

The tunnelling stopped at the far edge of the battleground. With its knees bent, the subterranean pokémon prepared to launch itself through the stone and rejoin the fight. But in making his move, Krookodile sprung upwards only to smack his head hard on the ceiling of the tunnel.

"Krookodiiiiile…" came a dizzy-sounding moan from under the ground.

"Krookodile?" Ash cried. "What's wrong? Use Dig to break out again!"

"Oh no," Brock murmured.

"What is it?" Misty asked him.

"Slowbro's Amnesia attack must have made Krookodile temporarily forget how to use Dig," he responded. "It'll take a lot of energy to break out without it. Maybe more than he has left."

"Good job, Slowbro," Lorelei commended. "Now, use Ice Beam."

A pale blue stream of ice fired out from the pink pokémon's maw, freezing a line of ground before it and causing it to crumble, including Krookodile's mound. Although this saved its opponent from overexerting himself trying to escape, the close-range attack had dealt moderate damage and encased his tail in solid ice.

"Honchkrow!" Karen shouted. "Get rid of Totodile with Thunder Wave!"

Having failed to free itself from Totodile's hold, Honchkrow raised up its feet and began to build up electricity in its beating wings.

Ash looked to Slowbro, who seemed ready to launch another attack on Krookodile. "Totodile, use Slash on Honchkrow's left wing!"

The little crocodile unclenched his jaws and pulled itself up Honchkrow's leg. The Thunder Wave was a second away from forming, so he had to be quick. Once at eye level with the bird, he leapt away, raising his stubby claw in mid-air and swiping his opponent roughly at the crest of its wing.

"Hooonch-k-krowww!"

It dipped down at the moment of impact, its flight pattern veering off to the left. The Thunder Wave it had been preparing was loosed the second after, and, rather than hitting Totodile, the crackling electrified sheet was sent straight towards Slowbro.

"Oh!" Lorelei said as sparks danced around Slowbro's rigid body.

"What a move!" Brock remarked. "Having Slowbro paralysed should really work in Ash's favour."

When Totodile landed with a flip back down on the ground, Ash turned back to his other pokémon. "Krookodile, break free with Dragon Claw and then use Crunch!"

Krookodile slashed his icy tail from its constraints with ease, then jumped up in the air towards Slowbro. Despite her pokémon's paralysis, Lorelei kept her composure.

"Try to turn around, Slowbro," she said gently. The encouraging tone spurred on the staticky pokémon, and with great effort, it managed to heave its stiff body around to the side. Krookodile, having no time to change his course, ended up smashing his mouth into the spiked, stony shellder fused onto Slowbro's tail.

"Kroooooooooooook!" he howled as his teeth clacked against the impenetrable shell. He broke away immediately and held his jaw in agony.

"One last Drill Peck should finish this!" Karen asserted.

Honchkrow cawed in agreement, sensing the opportunity for attack in Krookodile's incapacitation. Its beak spun like a drill, and it divebombed straight towards its foe.

"Krookodile, dodge!"

But Ash's warning came too late. The attack was a direct hit, sending Krookodile flying into the wall at the back of the arena. His sunglasses slipped down his face when he landed, revealing dark, stupefied swirls in his eyes.

"Krookodile is unable to battle," the announcer stated with a wave of his flag. "Honchkrow takes the round!"

"Return, Krookodile," Ash said as his pokéball absorbed the tired pokémon. He looked down at what remained of his team. "Just you now, Totodile. We can do this."

"I hope you're not slowing down, Ash, because we're just getting warmed up!" Karen chirped. "Okay, Honchkrow, Sucker Punch!"

Honchkrow flew towards its target, staying incredibly low to the ground. It got closer and closer, but Ash didn't utter a syllable.

"That's it, Ash, wait it out," Brock said.

"Huh. So he does learn things after all," Misty smiled to herself fondly.

Sure enough, when Honchkrow flew within striking distance, the attack it was readying simply failed to take.

"Just what I was counting on," Ash nodded. "Water Gun, Totodile, full power!"

From Totodile's mouth blasted an enormous rush of water, and with Honchkrow hovering just metres away, the attack was a devastating blow.

"Now follow it up with Headbutt!"

The giant splash died down, and Totodile leapt straight through the middle, slamming into his weak opponent with his head and taking it out once and for all.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle! The winner is Totodile!"

"Alright, Totodile!" Ash celebrated. "You still good to go on?"

"Toto-dile!" he cheered back, despite being rather tired at this point.

Karen returned Honchkrow and stepped backwards into the shadows. "One down, one to go," she said in good spirit, "but don't think you're beaten yet, Ash."

Lorelei and Slowbro nodded simultaneously. "Your move," she offered.

"Well, then," he thought for a moment, "Totodile, use Water Gun again!"

Another stream of water flowed from his mouth, albeit a much weaker one. With Slowbro still paralysed, the attack landed without any difficulty.

"Okay, rush forward with Bite!"

As his little legs began to carry him towards his target, Lorelei crouched down to her knees.

"Slowbro, listen to me," she whispered softly. "You may be paralysed, but you're not defeated yet. I know you have the power to push through this and win. Are you with me?"

"Slow…bro," it groaned with a smile.

"That's the spirit," she smiled. "Now, use your Yawn attack."

Panting, Slowbro blew a large pink bubble, which floated away and flew straight into the unprepared Totodile's mouth.

"Dile?" he stopped, his eyelids suddenly growing heavy.

"Oh, that's not good," Ash cringed. "Totodile, don't give up now! Bite attack!"

The tenacious reptile kept going, though tiredness quickly caused his tiny steps to buckle.

"To…to…" he yawned groggily.

"Think, think, think," Ash chanted. "Wait, that's it! Totodile, fire a water gun up into the air!"

Using its last few waking breaths, Totodile summoned a straight jet of water with his neck craned ninety degrees to the sky. It hit the high ceiling and dispersed into a light but steady precipitation. Just as his eyes snapped shut, Totodile felt a speck of water on his nose. Then another. Then another still. Soon, he was wrapped up in this rapturous rainfall embrace, the crisp droplets revitalising him instantly.

"It worked!" Ash laughed triumphantly.

"Ingenious strategy," Lorelei remarked. "Slowbro, Ice Beam."

"Dodge it, Totodile!"

With strength anew, Totodile leapt dextrously out of way and recommenced its charge across the field.

"Another Ice Beam," she added. "Keep it up."

Multiple shots were fired his way, but the energised starter pokémon evaded them all. Upon reaching Slowbro, his steps turned to hops, and he instinctively performed a somersault on a particularly high bounce.

"This is it, Totodile!" Ash reinforced. "Bite attack!"

"Surf, Slowbro."

Inches from making contact, Totodile was swept away yet again by a vicious tidal wave.

"Argh, this is painful!" Misty whined. "Just bite it, already!"

"I would've thought you'd want Lorelei to win," Brock said with a little wink.

"I…er…" she hesitated, "shut up, you're distracting me."

He turned back to the battle. "Lorelei's pokémon seem to favour defence over attack. Slowbro's battled for a while now, but it's barely taken any damage. If Ash wants to win this, he's got to move in close and get some serious hits in."

"Diiiiile!" Totodile cried as the wave sent him tumbling backwards.

"Totodile, get on top of the wave and use your tail to balance yourself!" Ash improvised.

Totodile grinned widely as it swam up to the wave's apex. Placing its tail down like a rudder, he stretched his arms out and found, to a degree, that he was able to steer himself atop the water tower.

"No way!" Tracey yelled in amazement. "Is Totodile actually riding that wave?"

"I've never seen a Surf attack taken quite so literally before," chuckled Professor Oak.

Ash laughed as he caught a glance of their expressions. "Now, Totodile, ride that wave back around to Slowbro!"

"Totototototototo-dile!"

With his tail, he swished the water repeatedly to curve it in the opposite direction. His own occasional Water Gun attacks added invaluably to his momentum.

"One last Ice Beam, Slowbro," Lorelei commanded. "Aim it at the water."

The attack did as instructed, and the raging wave froze into one solid piece. Totodile was thrown off his perch and sailed through the air with flailing limbs.

"Okay, now Bite, go!"

For the umpteenth time, Totodile readied his dark-type attack. But unlike previous attempts, this time it actually worked. His jaws tightened around Slowbro's head, and through a combination of its growing fatigue and the super-effective physical strike it had just been gifted, the psychic-type pokémon collapsed unconscious with an opaque thud.

"Slowbro is unable to battle!" boomed the announcer. "Totodile wins, and the victory goes to the challenger, Ash from Pallet Town!"

It took more than a moment for the realisation to sink in. Ash Ketchum, the pokémon trainer of almost twelve years who'd narrowly lost out on every single League championship he'd gone in for, had conquered the Elite Qualifier. Only when Totodile came bounding into the man's arms did he finally snap out of his delirium.

"We did it!" Ash cried at the top of his voice. "We actually beat two of the Elite Four! You were so awesome out there, Totodile!"

Misty, Brock and the whole rest of the group were on their feet.

"Woooohooo! Wait to go, Ash!" they cheered.

"Pika pika chu!" squeaked Pikachu from the sidelines.

Lorelei and Karen walked into the middle of the battlefield after all of the pokémon had been returned.

"I haven't had a battle that exhilarating in a houndoom's age," Karen smiled, shaking his hand. "The techniques you employed with your pokémon were just inspired!"

"I agree, Ash," nodded Lorelei. "I'm in awe of how strong you have become. Please, accept this badge as proof of your victory here today."

She held out her hand, upon which sat a ruby red badge with a golden 'P' on it. Ash took the prize and held it proudly up to his friends and family.

"Does this mean…?" he asked, just to be sure.

"It does, indeed, Ash," she said. "Welcome to the Indigo League."


After a hearty celebration lunch, the large group mostly dispersed. Delia, Professor Oak and Alexa (the latter apologising profusely for missing the battle) bid their farewells before heading back to Pallet Town; Violet and Lily announced they were off to scout out the "local hotties", which everybody thought it best not to question; Daisy and Tracey, who had agreed to stay in Indigo Plateau for the time being, returned to the apartment to fix up their new room; and as for the three old friends that remained, there was only one destination on their agenda: Indigo Labs.

"Whoa!" Misty yelped as she stumbled on her approach to the front door. Looking down, she noticed a damp bouquet of flowers crumpled flaccidly under her foot.

"Who'd leave these just lying around out here?" she said, picking them up and placing them on a nearby bench.

Inside the building was an even more peculiar sight. More flowers, piled high along the corridor walls, along with banners, posters and pokédolls. They practically had to swim their way through the treasure trove to reach the door to the lab.

"What is all this?" Ash spoke up. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to inspect a plush toy almost identical to him.

"Professor Cairn, are you in there?" Brock asked, knocking on the cold metal. The door creaked open, and the mild-mannered man appeared with his usual jovial expression.

"Ah, good afternoon, Brock!" he greeted. "And Misty, too! I was wondering when you'd arrive."

They stepped in one by one, each gasping when they noticed yet another mountain of flora and fauna in the opposite corner to where Psyduck was.

"It seems you and Psyduck have a lot of admirers, Misty," Cairn commented.

"Admirers?" She blinked. "Wait…you mean these are all for me? And Psyduck?"

"It was quite an ordeal getting in this morning, I'll admit," he chuckled. "There was a queue of people all the way back to that big tree across the street! After they left, we had a couple of dozen deliveries, some from as far away as Sinnoh. I did my best to shift everything into here, but, well, it just kept coming."

The trio wandered curiously around the pile, occasionally picking out something of interest to examine more closely. Scrawled on the banners were variations of the phrase, "Get well soon, Psyduck!", while the sheets of paper, seemingly made by young children, were mostly finger paintings or prints of cartoonish water pokémon. One poster in particular caught Misty's eye: a crude stick figure with a wonky smile and scribbly orange hair, underneath a large multicoloured caption reading, "We love you, Misty!"

"But…how?" she thought aloud. "How did anyone know we were here?"

"I wondered the same thing at first," said Cairn. "But then I sat down with my cup of tea to read the paper, and there was one article that jumped right out at me."

He walked to the alcove at the back of the room and returned seconds later holding a fresh newspaper. Turning it to the right page, he handed it to Misty, who, after scanning through the information herself, passed it to Brock to read aloud:

"By now, you will have no doubt heard about the tragedy that befell the Cerulean City Pokémon Gym on August 14th. If that is the case, then you may also very well have caught wind of one or many outrageous rumours surrounding the incident: was it a terrorist attack? An act of cruelty from a jealous fellow gym leader? An elaborate insurance scam? Or, perhaps, was the building just perilously unsafe? Well, dear readers, today is the day to put to rest these bogus tales of debauchery and scaremongering, for I write to you, with exclusive interviews and eyewitness accounts, the pure, heartbreaking truth of gym leader Misty Waterflower, and the miraculous hidden power of her pokémon."

At the end of the paragraph, Brock stopped to clear his throat, and Ash and Pikachu moved in closer, where they noticed Alexa's name and photograph in the corner of the page.

"Over the last ten days, I have come to know Ms. Waterflower well, and consider her a close personal friend. It has been both a pleasure and a struggle seeing her through this tumultuous time, which is why, before proceeding any further, I want to clear something up once and for all, as both a first-hand witness and an impartial scribe: MISTY IS NOT TO BLAME."

Despite having read the words already, hearing them spoken out loud made Misty smile with a comforting warmth.

"Seven years ago, she and her friends were harassed by three men calling themselves the Invincible Pokémon Brothers, who were revealed to have ties with the criminal organisation Team Rocket. These brothers later showed up at the Cerulean gym, where their vicious attack almost resulted in the deaths of both Misty and her newly evolved Gyarados. A representative of the Pokémon Inspection Agency banned them from all pokémon-related events, and they were presumed to have left Kanto. However, just days ago-"

"Brock, can you please skip ahead a bit?" Misty interrupted gently. "I don't ever want to hear the names of those three villains again."

He nodded in understanding. "Erm, right, let's see…" he skimmed past each section mentioning either them or the PokéTrust. "The concussion Psyduck received from the blow gave him a headache so severe that the dormant psychic power inside his mind became too much for him to control. This power tore the gym apart in minutes, and the poor pokémon in the middle of it all could do nothing to stop himself. Now, I know what you're thinking: isn't this all a little far-fetched? Believe it or not, that was the exact word they used in court. But in reality, Misty's psyduck is no ordinary pokémon. His abilities are not simply the result of a whack to the head, and nor is he just an unwitting host to some greater force within him. As confirmed by both Ms. Waterflower and her best friend, Ash Ketchum, the only reason they escaped the wreckage unharmed was because Psyduck, knowing his injury would cause them harm, transported them to safety using Teleport while he stayed behind in the face of grave danger. Tell me, loyal readers: does this sound at all like a mindless or malevolent pokémon to you?"

The further he got into the article, the more invested the listeners became. There was something so gratifying, so climactic about finally hearing a recount of these events as they were meant to be heard.

"The Waterflowers have since been issued a formal apology by the Pokémon League and rehomed temporarily in Indigo Plateau. Psyduck, meanwhile, continues to receive specialist care, supervised as we speak by a hand-picked expert of whom Saffron City gym leader, Sabrina, was once a pupil. He is in good hands, but their problems are far from over, and so I ask, to pokémon lovers all over the world: please join me in showing your support for Misty Waterflower, a woman who has faced attempted murder, grotesque accusations from the court and the media alike, and the destruction of her entire home only to emerge from it all even stronger; and for Psyduck, the gallant pokémon who sacrificed himself to save his master from a terrible fate. In the run-up to the Indigo League Conference, let our thoughts and prayers be with them."

When the bulk of the text transitioned into a full interview between Alexa and Misty, Brock thought it appropriate to stop, and the looks of contentment across the room told him they'd heard more than enough. Misty looked at Psyduck, then over at the pile of gifts, things given by people she'd never met out of the goodness of their hearts, and felt a little moisture playing at her eyes.

"Wow. This…this is all…" she started, but emotion left her unable to finish.

"I know, Mist, isn't it great?" Ash took over for her. "Good job you've got such a big place, eh? All this stuff'll need a whole room to itself!"

Professor Cairn stepped forward. "Pardon me, young man, but am I right in thinking you're Ash Ketchum?"

"Er, yeah, that's me," he answered, surprised.

"Ah, I thought so!" Cairn nodded. "You're exactly as Misty described you yesterday."

"You talked about me?" Ash directed at Misty, who shrugged in embarrassment.

"Oh, at length, I should say," he added playfully. "She told me all about the adventures you had together as children. Say, how is your Indigo League application coming along?"

With a proud grin, Ash pulled out the Pokémon League badge from his jacket pocket. "I beat Lorelei and Karen this morning, so I'm in."

"Lorelei and-?! Why, they're members of the Elite Four! You must be an incredibly strong pokémon trainer to have performed a feat like that!"

He scratched his head. "Ehehe…well, my pokémon deserve most of the credit."

Cairn smiled, then swatted his balding head in disbelief. "Dear me, where are my manners. I'm Professor Cairn. As of yesterday, Psyduck is my patient, and my number one focus."

"How is Psyduck, Professor?" Misty prompted.

"See for yourself."

As he beckoned the group over to the serum tank at the left of the room, each of its members' jaws dropped in sequence when they got a good look inside. Though still comatose and suspended in liquid, Psyduck looked as if he'd simply fallen asleep on a normal day in Cerulean City. His wounds had vanished without so much as a scar, the skin around his eyes was free of its hideous dark bruising, and even the stubborn flecks of grease that had refused to wash off were nowhere to be seen. It was like looking at a completely different pokémon.

"I don't believe it," Brock exhaled.

"How is this possible?" Misty said with equal shock.

"Total saturation," he reminded her. "I've been tinkering with this serum for decades. Since psychic pokémon are far more cognisant than other types, their reactions to medicine and other outside agents require a certain degree of mental 'permission'. Judging by the speed at which Psyduck has healed, I'd say he really does want to get better."

Something about this made Misty smile – if only the idea that her Psyduck was still in there, somewhere.

"So, can we wake him up now?" she asked.

"Oh, not yet, I'm afraid," he stated solemnly. "I'll need to gather more data before I deem it safe. Until we know what we're dealing with here, waking him up would undoubtedly do more harm than good."

He turned his head to stare blankly at a nondescript corner. "The body can recover from almost anything," he muttered. "But mental scars…now those are the ones that leave a mark…"

An odd pause rang out after this, leaving everyone quite unsure what to say next. Thankfully, the cryptic professor soon snapped himself back from whatever reverie he seemed to have slipped into.

"Anyway, shall we get Psyduck out of the tank, then?" he asked brightly. Misty, slightly taken aback, was nonetheless enthused by this idea.

"Show me what to do," she said.

"Oh, it's all automated," Cairn explained. "Have you ever tried to lift a drowzee before? Or a jynx? This machine has saved me many a hernia over the years, that's for sure."

He pointed down to a button on the console. "But you're welcome to do the honours."

Smiling, she pushed the button, and with a dramatic sucking noise, the green liquid drained gradually out of the capsule like water from a sink. After a second button prompt from Professor Cairn, the latches on the glass door popped open, and the dripping Psyduck, still in his harness, was lowered down to a table below the unit on a pair of extendable rods.

"There we are," said Cairn as he carefully detached the harness. "We'll give him a bath, and the tank will need sterilising. After that, I'd like to put him back in, if that's alright with you."

"Put him back in?" she repeated. "But why?"

"An upright pose is better for blood circulation than lying in a bed," he pointed out. "It may accelerate his healing process. Also, I modified the capsule to double as an oil diffuser when dealing with an awkward gardevoir some years ago. There should still be a bottle of Spring Gracidea in my car – I thought it might be soothing for him."

Misty thought for a moment, and then nodded her head sincerely. "Yeah, that sounds nice," she concurred. "Thank you for everything you're doing here, Professor Cairn."

"Well, I haven't really done much yet, Misty," he grinned bashfully, "but you're very welcome."

Ash turned his head. "Hey, I was thinking of heading outside to train now. Wanna come with me?"

"Training?" she questioned. "Right after your battle?"

"You saw what happened with Totodile and Krookodile, Mist. It almost cost me the match. If I'm gonna win this thing, I've gotta whip these guys into shape, and fast."

She couldn't very well argue with that. The peculiar animosity between the two reptilian pokémon had been hard to watch.

"Point taken," she conceded. "Sure, I'll come. Will you be alright here, Professor?"

He smiled warmly. "Oh, don't worry about me, Misty, Brock and I will take care of everything. You two go out and have a good time now, okay?"

With expressions to match, Misty and Ash said their goodbyes and weaved their way through the minefield of gifts up towards the exit.


"So, whereabouts were you thinking?"

"That big hill over there by those trees looks like a good spot."

"Okay, let's g-"

Misty stopped when her left pocket began to vibrate. She slid the pink-trimmed pokégear out of her shorts and held it a few inches in front of her face.

"It's Daisy," she said. "I'd better take this."

Two basic graphics appeared on the screen – one for her, and the other resembling her sister.

"Please tell me you haven't burned down our new house already," she groaned into the receiver.

"Oh, Misty, you're, like, so funny!" came Daisy's sarcastic squeal. "Anyway, you gotta get over here. Some guy was just at the door with a package for us. I think it might be the plans for, like, our new gym!"

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, totally! Oh, and he said to flag up any, like, issues we have, or they're just gonna go ahead and start."

She sighed. "Okay. I'm on my way."

Pocketing the device again, she turned to her confused friend. "Sorry, Ash. Daisy says the plans have arrived and they need me to look over them before they're finalised."

"You're leaving?" he asked, slightly hurt. "I thought you said you'd help me train!"

"I'll come back when I'm done, you big baby," she tutted with a little smile. "Just get started without me, okay?"

Then across the plaza she ran, leaving Ash to make the short journey alone to the hill he had his eye on. The sky was slightly overcast, making for a cooler and therefore much more pleasant day to train, and the newest Indigo League entrant was eager to get stuck right into the intense preparation with his team of all-time big hitters.

"Okay then…" he said as he reached the top of the hill, "come on out, everyone!"

He threw his five pokéballs up into the air, and they all burst open simultaneously, bathing the forest edge in a blinding white light that soon morphed into distinct shapes:

The mighty Charizard, loosing a plume of fire with a powerful roar; the vivacious Totodile, who had already more than proven himself in the Elite Qualifier; the majestic Staraptor, his red-tinted comb blowing in the updraught of his flapping wings; the proud Krookodile, grinning confidently with his shifty eyes concealed behind unique red glasses; the tenacious Glalie, spinning himself into a floating somersault as he emerged; and to complete the set, Pikachu hopped down off Ash's shoulder and took his place at the end of the illustrious League lineup.

"Hey, guys!" he cried in excitement. The greeting was met with growls, chirps, screeches and all manner of other sounds.

"This is a special day for us," he declared. "We're going to compete in the Indigo League, and I've chosen the six of you specially so we can give it all we've got and win this thing! You with me?"

Another chorus of cries followed.

"Now, some of you haven't battled together before, so this is gonna be a learning curve for all of us…"

Krookodile shot a sly glare down the line at Totodile and snorted.

"…but I know if we all work together and pool our combined strengths, those other trainers won't stand a-"

"OH MY GOD, I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU!"

Ash broke off his pep talk to tend to the shrill searing pain in his right ear. Swivelling to identify its source, the young man was met with the presence of a woman wearing yellowish dungarees, a light brown T-shirt, and a grin as wide as the Driftveil Drawbridge.

"Long time no see, Ash Ketchum," she winked at him. Her face was familiar, but Ash couldn't put a name to it.

"Uhhhh," he uttered dumbly.

"What? Don't you remember me?" she teased. "It's me, Macy!"

And remember he did, once that final piece to the puzzle was uncovered. He hadn't seen the Mahogany Town native since his time in Johto almost eight years ago. Like all of the people he'd befriended, though, she and her fire-type pokémon had made quite a lasting impression. She was a lot taller now, just a head below Ash, and her brown hair flowed down to her mid-back, no longer bound in those girlish pigtails. From what he could tell, her bubbly personality was still very much the same, but he was relieved to see she'd lost her rather slapped-cheeked look of youth that went with it.

"Oh yeah, hi!" he said in confirmation. "Glad you remembered me, too."

She gasped in amusement. "Silly Ash, how could I forget the one that got away?" Her eyes wandered up and down his toned body. "Man…you've turned out to be quite a stud. Ooh, stop, you're bringing me out in a hot flush!"

Her dainty hand fanned her reddening face, and Ash took a subtle step backwards. "Ehehe…" he breathed uneasily.

"So, I heard about what happened to Misty's gym," Macy said. "That must've been so hard for her. Is that why you're here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Misty and her sisters are living here now. Also…" he got out his Pokémon League badge, "I'm in the Indigo League."

"No way!" she gushed. "Me too!"

Out of her satchel, the woman produced a badge case, inside which were eight gleaming badges from each of Kanto's gyms.

"Got my last one just a couple of weeks ago," she beamed. "Aren't they pretty?"

There were a few among the collection that Ash did not recognise. It would, indeed, have been fun to challenge the other Kantonian gyms he hadn't visited the first time around. While he was looking, however, Macy interrupted him with a tap on his shoulder.

"Erm, Ash, are these your pokémon?"

Following the pointing finger, Ash cringed at the sight of the six aforementioned 'big hitters' engaged in a puerile row.

"Hey!" he yelled at them. "Cut it out right now!"

Bit by bit, the squabbling died down, and the restless pokémon fell back into line. Krookodile crossed his arms and turned away.

"So, no need to ask how your training's going," Macy giggled. Ash huffed in humiliation. "Have you tried a buddy system?"

"Buddy system?" he queried.

"Pair them up, and have them look after each other during training. It's a great bonding exercise, as well as giving them a constant challenge to overcome."

She walked up and down the line in contemplation. "You could put Charizard and Staraptor together since they're both flying types…Pikachu and Glalie could be fun…and this," she smirked at the two remaining pokémon scowling at each other, "this one's a no-brainer."


At the precise second the door to the apartment opened, Misty was pounced upon and dragged right across the room to the sofa.

"Waaah!" she yelped. "What's the big idea?!"

"We waited for you!" Daisy whined. "Come on, come on, come on, open it, already!"

Misty took the brown envelope on the table with a look of scepticism. "Why are you so excited about this?"

"Like, I wanna see our new digs, why else? This place is sooooo awesome, though."

"Well that's good, because they've still got to build the new gym first," Misty smirked. Carefully, she ran her finger along the flap of the envelope and scooped out the wad of sheets that lay inside. Some were traditional blueprints, some were stripped back room plans, and some were more colourful conceptual designs. Naturally, the latter were what caught their eyes first.

"What is this?" Misty frowned, holding up a large painting.

"It's beautiful," Tracey opined.

"Hardly," she objected. "And it's WAY too big for our plot of land. They must have given us the wrong plans."

"No, Misty, look, it says right there: Cerulean Gym Artist's Rendering, Version 1.0."

"Well yeah, but…but…" she persisted, her breath growing erratic, "look at it!"

Tracey and Daisy moved back. "What about it?" Daisy probed.

Misty stood up and began to pace around. "Does this really scream 'pokémon gym' to you? Looks more like a creepy spy headquarters if you ask me, something straight out of Area 28! I mean, which prize moron thought to design a place specifically meant for pokémon battling out of goddamn glass?!"

"Misty, come on, now…" Tracey attempted to cut in.

"And what's this in front of it, some kind of memorial garden? Probably for the heart and soul that went into the old gym, I'll bet."

"Jeez, Misty, chill out!" gasped Daisy. "Besides, it's, like, only a concept drawing. You haven't even looked at any of the other ones yet!"

She rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit that her ditsy older sister was right. The glossy paper slapped down on the table as Misty picked up another, immediately wishing she hadn't – for this one was of the battle area. Her domain.

"A ROCK FLOOR?!" she shrieked. "IN A WATER GYM?!" The page crumpled in her clenched fist. "Oh, that's it."

"Wait, where are you going?" asked the startled Tracey as his future sister-in-law made for the door.

"I'm going to find that miserable excuse for an architect and tell him exactly what I think of his so-called 'plans'," she growled.

"Oh, for Mew's sake, Mist, why are you so ungrateful?!" Daisy bit back. "Like, stop being such a brat!"

Misty ignored the irony of that statement. "Daisy, this isn't just a gym to us. It's our home – my home – and I won't have the Pokémon League turning it into some joyless, by-the-book pitstop that trainers come to just to get their badge and go. The thought of that makes me sick. It's outrageous!"

Regardless of the sense she was making, they knew they couldn't stop her once she started. She snatched up the pile of documents and stomped towards the door, almost pulling it off its hinges.

"Do you really need to go, like, all the way over there just to make a point?" Daisy sighed. "They gave us a form specifically to flag up our issues!"

"Oh, I'll flag them up, alright," she snarled on her way out. "He'd just better pray I use the narrow end."

Once outside, there was no stopping the furious woman's warpath. Her eyes were fixed on the Pokémon League Pavilion at the end of the plaza, and neither person nor pokémon nor potted plant was going to get in her way. She burst through the lobby doors, raced up the stairs stopping only for a one-second look at the floor map, and pelted down the corridors like a rampaging primeape. The door at the end was unmarked, but she knew she was in the right place, and, rather than knocking, Misty opted for a rather less subtle approach – by kicking the door in with her heel.

"Alright, wise guy, I wanna know just what you think you're playing at here, and don't pretend you don't know what I mean because I'm really not in the mood!"

The office was but a tiny square, with a desk directly in front of her. The snake sitting at it was obscured behind a large computer monitor.

"Wyyaaaaaah!" he jumped in fright. "Wh-Who are you? Take whatever you w-want, just don't h-hurt me!"

"I'm the gym leader of Cerulean City, and if you don't get your slimy, overpaid ass out of that chair in ONE second, then so help me, I'll-"

But then he did – and Misty's resolve, as well as the remaining breath in her lungs, evaporated on the spot. This man was a million miles away from what she had expected. He looked only a couple of years older than her, for starters, and his posture and stuttering suggested a kind of frailty, uncharacteristic of someone who worked for the Pokémon League. Those were only the trimmings, however, for what stunned her the most was the thing her thumping heart had picked up on the instant he had risen to his feet. A thought, fleeting at first, but vivid enough to keep growing, and growing, and growing, until it was the only thing she allowed herself to see.

He looks just like Ash.

The man cleared his throat timidly. "You're…M-Misty Waterflower, aren't you?"

Misty's mouth opened, but no words would come out. In that moment, it was if she'd forgotten how to perform the most basic of functions, staring straight ahead being the sole one she remembered. There were differences about him, of course, aside from the way he carried himself. His height– at least six foot four, she guessed – was an immediate standout, and his bright blond hair, while a similar style, was not nearly as spiky or untameable. But those eyes…the same shape, the same warmth, the same deep brown colour exactly, and with the boyish cheeks and facial features to match…the likeness was uncanny.

Realising the pause had been unusually long, Misty forced herself to answer with a stiff nod of her head.

"Is this, u-um, about the plans?" he asked with a slight shiver. Fighting off the involuntary blush, the conflicted woman quickly remembered she was supposed to be angry.

"Yes, it is."

The man bent double, roughly scraping his hands through his hair. "You hate them, don't you?" he strained. "I knew it! I knew I'd bitten off more than I could chew here! 'Hey, how about a full-time developing job at Celadon Game Corner?' they said; 'Nah, screw that, I'm off to the Pokémon League!' Well, who's the one laughing now, huh? Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

His self-effacing brought Misty out of her temporary catatonia, and despite still having an axe to grind, she suddenly didn't feel the need anymore to deliver it quite so…aggressively.

"Whoa, hey, slow down there," she shushed. "I wouldn't say hate, exactly…but I do have some problems with the design."

He dropped back down into his chair and sighed. "S-Sorry," he mumbled. "This is the first high-profile job I've ever been given. They let me ch-choose which gym to work on, and since my brother and I are, well, kinda big fans of yours, I knew I had to go with Cerulean. I guess I hoped my new design would, um…impress you." He blushed three shades of red. "But they never g-gave me enough time, and after the accident last week, the deadlines only got tighter, and…ugh, I feel so stupid."

With his head in his hands, the sullen man didn't notice Misty walking further into the office. Feeling oddly relaxed around this person she'd met less than five minutes ago, she leant against the windowsill and put on a smile of genuine sympathy.

"Look, I have to be honest," she said gently. "I can't say I agree with a lot of what I saw in this folder. I came down here to tear you a new one, but…" she looked down, "I guess I didn't know the situation you were in."

"Wh-What do you mean?" he whimpered.

"I thought you were going to be just another brutish goon who wouldn't listen to reason no matter what I threatened them with," she explained, "but I can tell you're not. You're…different."

His eyes brightened. "Good different?"

"…Yes. Good different," she plainly answered, not quite knowing what he was expecting there. "It could be too early to tell, but I just feel like I won't be banging my head against the wall while we're working together."

Standing up, the docile artist took a deep breath and beamed. "Th-Thanks. I really appreciate that. I'm Adrian, by the way. Adrian Planner." He moved to hold out his hand to shake, but then shyly retracted it. "Hey, listen, um, Ms. Waterflower…"

"Call me Misty."

He blushed again. "M-Misty…I'm sorry you didn't like the plans I drew up. I know it's, well, a lot different to the first gym, but if you'd like, I can talk you through the more…extreme design choices I made."

She said nothing as if expecting him to keep going, so, with a nervous chuckle, he did just that.

"And b-besides, those were just the prototypes. I left the better drawings back at my apartment, so, erm, if you're not doing anything, we could, I don't know, head over and t-take a look?"

A pink tint of both embarrassment and disbelief swept across Misty's face. "You want me to go back to your apartment?" she repeated in a surprisingly high pitch.

"Or not!" Adrian blurted out. "I didn't mean to, um, overstep or anything."

The look of innocence on his face made the flustered gym leader unsure whether or not he even knew what he'd just asked. His question alone was shockingly intimate, and the implications after that…well, she dared not think.

"Erm…" she began tentatively, "thank you for the offer, Adrian, but I agreed to help my friend Ash train for the Indigo League, so I think I'd better get back to-"

Before she could finish, the girl's wandering eyes chose that exact moment to pick out two figures playing atop a nearby hill. The first was unmistakeably Ash, whose iconic hat alone would've given him away, not to mention the pokémon dancing around him. But the other figure took a degree of squinting to identify, and the instant she did, only her gritted teeth saved her from the uncontrollable desire to retch. Longer hair and a lither form wouldn't be enough to fool her – she'd know that bothersome blast from the past anywhere. Macy.

"You know what?" she changed tack, half-lidded eyes fixed coolly out of the window. "Never mind. Your place it is."


"You're late," grunted a senior technician as the shutter doors to Team Rocket's science department rolled up. "A whole day late, to be precise."

"Oh, go cry about it, egghead," Jessie scowled. "Just give us our pokémon so we can get the heck out of here."

The irked man swiped a stylus over his PDA, and the conveyor belt separating him from his three obnoxious clients whirred to life. From a dark chute at the end slid two shining pokéballs, stopping when directly in front of their recipients.

"Et voilà," he snarked caustically, gesturing for them to be on their way. James picked up one of the black, 'R'-crested balls and frowned.

"Don't you have something that matches our outfits a little better?" he shrugged glumly. Smirking at the sheer audacity, the technician simply turned tail and stomped briskly away.

"Jackass," Meowth sniped. "Anyways, come on, you guys, let's see what we's got!"

"Please don't be another magikarp," James begged directly to the ball.

Jessie, not wanting to wait, snatched her pokéball off the conveyor belt and flung it straight down at her feet. With baited breath, they waited for the emergent light to take shape, each blink of their eyes revealing another strange angle or appendage. After what seemed like hours but in reality was a mere second…

"Vreeeeee!"

The quadrupedal pokémon was very odd indeed. Its front half was furry and amicable, and its hind half blackened and ominous. Jessie, of course, was stationed near the latter end, and barely caught a glimpse of the thing before the toothy face at the tip of its tail snagged itself a mouthful of her hair.

"EEEEEEEEEEEK!" she shrieked. "What is this creepy thing?!"

"It's a girafarig!" observed Meowth. "They say da tail's got a mind of its own."

"Well, someone tell this mind to mind its own business!" she bellowed as she prized her mangled locks out of the grinning black mouth.

"Vree, Vreeee!" laughed Girafarig from its more conventional front head.

"It's not funny!" Jessie huffed, returning the capricious psychic pokémon to think on its sins.

"My turn!" James sang, holding up his pokéball. "Go!"

Immediately, they saw that the occupant of this ball was much smaller. When the light from the capsule finally disappeared, the looks on Jessie and Meowth's faces were, to say the least, underwhelmed.

"Is that it?" Jessie said with mild disgust.

"Where's da rest of it?" Meowth joined in.

James, however, wore a beaming smile as bright as an exploding voltorb.

"Ahh!" he cried, holding his arms out to the little pokémon. "A mareep! We used to have mareep roaming the grounds of my parents' mansion, but I've always wanted one of my own!"

"Mreeeeeeep, mreeeeeeep!" the electric ball of wool baaed, bounding into her new master's arms and snuggling him affectionately.

"Just remember, James, you've actually got to battle with this one," Jessie reminded him, "so don't go all Chimecho on it and turn it into a big softie."

"If it's even got any guts ta begin with," Meowth sneered.

"I know, I know," he acknowledged. "But look how cute she is!"

"Well, I tried," she sighed, picking her teammate up by the scruff of his neck. "Come on, let's get out of this dump."

Through the long corridors they trudged, getting lost multiple times despite having reported to this building for most of their adult lives. Passing one of the larger laboratories, a few familiar voices could be overheard, and they instinctively stopped to listen in through the wall.

"You have done well, my agents," the boss's voice echoed from inside the room.

"The specimen you obtained from the Indigo Courthouse will be invaluable to my research," Professor Sebastian stated. "My original samples have largely either dried up or been consumed in my ongoing experiments."

"Oh, it was no problem at all," smarmed a familiar female voice. "Isn't that right, Bulge?"

They heard a groan laden with gravel. "How many times do I gotta tell ya, it's B- oh, I give up."

"Cassidy," Jessie hissed in revulsion.

"And Burke," James noted. "What are they doing here?"

"And how come they're with dat creepo Sebastian?" added Meowth. "Don't they usually get their orders from Dr. Namba?"

"Now," Giovanni said, "let us discuss your next assignment. I have a number of undercover agents stationed in Indigo Plateau as of yesterday. This morning, one of them brought to my attention this article, written by a woman with links to both the Cerulean gym incident and the Indigo Courthouse."

Butch took the newspaper and tucked it under his arm. "Ah, I get ya," he nodded. "So you want us to take her out?"

"No, Crutch, I do not," he snapped. "If you'd actually care to look at what I have given you, you'll see that it is the psyduck I am interested in."

With a roll of her eyes, Cassidy snatched the paper away from her partner and skimmed over the text. "I don't understand," she murmured. "What's so special about this psyduck?"

"That is what we must find out. I believe that the substance you have brought us is somehow connected to this pokémon, and if we discover the source of Psyduck's power, the possibilities could be endless."

"Are they talkin' about da twoipette's psyduck?" Meowth pondered.

"Sir, I feel it prudent to inform you that I, too, have a contact based in Indigo Plateau," Sebastian's emotionless drone sounded out. "If the need arises, they may be of great use."

"Excellent," Giovanni approved, then turned back to Cassidy and Butch. "I have received word that the pokémon of interest is located in Indigo Labs. Your mission henceforth should be clear."

"Capture Psyduck," Cassidy affirmed.

"Let nothing stand in our way," Butch jumped in. They joined hands.

"And spread the eternal glory of Team Rocket!"

Jessie heard a rumbling sound from her spot on the wall. "They're coming, they're coming, move!"

As Butch and Cassidy exited the lab, their rivalrous co-workers darted down the hall and hid inside an empty store room.

"That was close," James panted.

"So, the perfect Saint Cassidy's off on another mission," Jessie spat. "Do you know what this means?"

"It means they's gonna get the big promotion while we're stuck scrapin' the goop off o' da boss's car," Meowth sighed.

"Not if we beat them to it!" she exclaimed.

James raised a lavender eyebrow. "What are you suggesting, Jess?"

"Look, we heard where those two losers are headed, and the boss seems to think this is really important. I say we should get there before them and swipe Psyduck for ourselves!"

"I guess it would be a good opportunity to test out our new pokémon," James commented.

"Exactly. If we do this, the boss'll praise us for taking the initiative, and Cassidy and Burt will be demoted to our personal bootlickers! Hahahaha, it's win-win!"

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Meowth cackled.

Bursting out of the cupboard, the grinning trio galivanted down the hallway with a euphoria-fuelled haste.

"Team Rocket's striking gold again!"


His apartment was on the outskirts of Indigo Plateau, about a twenty-minute walk from the Pokémon League Pavilion. Misty didn't mind the distance, although it would have been nice to have a little more conversation during the journey. She wasn't used to being around people as quiet as Adrian, and couldn't deny that it made her feel a little uneasy. But despite this, some small sense deep within her core told the young woman that she could really be herself around this new and unusual person. For a reason she couldn't quite rationalise, she liked him.

"Well, a-as you can see, I'm definitely not overpaid," Adrian laughed as they entered the small abode.

"I think it's nice," she said, all the while feeling guilty about her earlier comment.

"Can I, um, get you something to drink? Tea, coffee…?"

"Just water, please," she smiled at him. Walking into the front room, Misty noticed immediately how clean and well-kept it was. On the mantelpiece were several photographs, the nearest of which she picked up and inspected.

"That's my younger brother, Cormac," Adrian explained, handing over her water.

"Your brother?" she asked. "I don't see much resemblance."

He chuckled. "Y-Yeah, we get that a lot. I'm nothing like him p-personality-wise either. People sometimes ask us if we're r-really related."

"I know the feeling," she grinned. "My sisters always called me the runt because I acted so differently to them."

"That's horrible!" he said in shock.

Misty shrugged. "Oh, don't worry, I'm used to it by now. So, is Cormac a pokémon trainer?"

"Oh y-yeah, he's coming to compete in the Indigo League, actually," Adrian confirmed. "Didn't you say your friend Ash was, too?"

The mention of Ash brought spiralling back to Misty's attention the shy architect's eerie similarity to her friend in question. Why did she keep picking up on this? What did it matter? She had to wonder what sense there was in blowing off Ash to spend time with someone who looked scarily like him. But then, of course, she was all too aware of how different they were on a fundamental level. Ash was far too busy with Macy to care about where she was, so why should she feel bad about being around someone who did care?

"You said you had plans to show me," she uttered rather sharply. Adrian, though slightly confused, nevertheless went to fetch the drawings, returning in no more than thirty seconds.

"H-Here we go." He sat down on the sofa, clearing his throat nervously when Misty sat down beside him. "I…figured this was the one you were most annoyed about."

And indeed, it was.

"Yeah…the rock floor," she grimaced warily.

"I get what you mean," he said, "but th-there's actually a reason why I designed this. Have you, um, ever heard of mega evolution?"

"Mega evolution?" she asked.

Adrian nodded his head. "Yeah, it's this new thing in the Kalos region, apparently. Some fully-evolved pokémon can be made to evolve even further for a short time, which makes them way bigger and stronger."

He stood up, seemingly excited. "And also, in the Galar region, they say there are pokémon that can grow to over a hundred feet tall! Can you imagine?"

"Wow," Misty murmured, a little bowled over. "That's pretty impressive, but…what's it got to do with my gym?"

"I know your old gym's pool had, erm, floating platforms for pokémon to stand on," he began, "but if someone from Kalos or Galar was to come and challenge you with their humungous super pokémon? They'd sink right to the bottom!"

"So?" she shrugged. "That's where the trainers' skill comes in. They have to adapt to their environment."

"Oh, I-I know, I know. But if trainers keep losing to you because of how the gym is set up, there could be an inquiry from the PIA, and the gym could be shut down on the grounds of being unfair.

"Plus, um, the rock field is only one option," he added when she appeared unconvinced. "I designed it to tuck away under the floor so you can have a pool there, too. I know how much you love the water, so, er…you know…"

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Misty remarked.

He coyly scratched his head. "Yeah. I may not be the best at spontaneity, but when I have no distractions and enough time to prepare, I can get really into projects like this."

A short silence washed in while Misty looked over the other drawings, and although there seemed little need to talk, Adrian began to fidget as though he felt he should.

"Are you okay?" she looked up.

He waved it off. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, ehehe. I was just wondering…"

"Yes?"

"I know I'm, well, kind of an awkward person, and I stutter like hell when I get nervous around people. Does being here with me make you, I don't know, feel uncomfortable?"

Misty smiled with a mixture of melancholy and understanding. "Well, truthfully, I was a bit shocked by a guy I'd only just met asking me back to his apartment…"

Adrian turned beet red and cupped his hands over his mouth. "OH GOD, I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT!"

Laughing, she continued, "but no, Adrian, I don't feel uncomfortable around you. And besides, you're not stuttering now, right?"

This realisation caused him to light up in surprise. "Hey, I guess not!" His blush reappeared. "Erm…thank you, Misty. That means a lot."

"You're welcome," she said gently. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I'll take you to meet my friend Tracey at some point – you guys are really going to hit it off."

"O-Okay," Adrian mumbled, his stutter making a brief comeback.

Selecting a detailed concept piece, Misty held it up to the light and turned to her artistic new associate. "So, what else can you tell me about my new gym?"