I'm so glad the prologue of this story was well received! I wasn't sure how I wanted to space out updates for this story, but I figure it's been almost a month (?) since I uploaded the prologue and time is basically a formality at this point anyway.

I also just have to thank everyone for all of the great feedback after the prologue! This whole quarantine situation has been pretty hard on me (as I'm sure it's been on many of you) so reading all of your reviews and thoughts on this story really helped brighten my spirits and got me super excited to bring the rest of it to you all!

I know the cliffhanger at the end of the prologue wasn't much of a mystery because of the story description, but don't worry: there's plenty more where that came from!

Chapter 1: Alive, Unknown

It amazed Ash that no one had recognized him yet, although he figured the speed he was running at probably made that fact more believable.

He had just reached Cerulean City after a quick ride on Charizard's back, and he knew exactly where he was headed. People stared at him as he raced by, but that was largely due to his haste and not particularly who he was.

In reality, it was nice. Ash was proud to have won the Indigo Conference, and he didn't mind signing autographs or taking pictures, but he did miss his now long-gone anonymity on occasion. As hard as it was to believe, even a happy go lucky and super friendly guy like Ash Ketchum appreciated some peace and solitude every once in a while.

His reason for visiting the floral lagoon city was simple: there was someone he wanted to see. He'd been pretty busy since the end of the Indigo Conference and hadn't gotten to do many fun things outside of his pre-requisite responsibilities as the new Kanto league champion. Those who were close to him knew exactly who that person was, without him even having to say a name, and it always led to a bevy of knowing smiles.

Ash had no idea why.

Regardless, he was excited to pay this visit, and never dwelled too long on what those looks actually meant. With the speed at which he was running, it didn't take him long to reach his destination.

The Cerulean City gym.

For the first time since he'd dismounted Charizard, Ash stood still so he could take in the sights of the massive building. It looked so different from the first time he'd visited. The goofy, beach ball style roof, giant Dewgong sign, and garish paint job of pink, yellow, and peach had been replaced by an angular glass roof, a Starmie sign emblazoned with the official Pokémon League logo, and a much more conservative color scheme of gray and white with just a few pops of purple, yellow, and pink to keep it interesting.

It had been a couple of years since Ash had first seen it, during his school field trip from Alola. None of his classmates had ever seen the gym's old design, so they had no idea how dramatic of a transformation it had really been. Ash, however, was fascinated by just how much it had changed, and before they'd even walked inside, he'd asked Misty what felt like a hundred questions.

"How were you guys able to do all of this?" He'd marveled, staring up at the roof as it glistened in the sunlight.

"An influx of funding from the Pokémon League," Misty had replied simply, smirking at Ash. "Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah, it looks amazing!" Ash gushed. "Like it's not even the same place! What did you do with that weird Dewgong sign? Did you sell it? Or give it away? Do you still have it in storage somewhere?"

"That's what you're most curious about?" Misty scoffed.

"Of course!" Ash chuckled. "That thing made me laugh every time I came here!"

Misty appeared a bit offended. "Why, because you thought it looked stupid?"

"Kind of," Ash admitted, blushing a bit. "But also, because as soon as I saw it, I knew I was one step closer to seeing you!"

He didn't really grasp the full meaning of what he'd said back then, but Misty was not that dense. Her own blush had exploded all over her face, and she found herself unable to speak. Fully unaware of his own effect on Misty, Ash blinked and leaned in closer to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked naively. "Your face is really red."

"I'm fine!" Misty blurted, causing Ash to take a step back. "Really, it's nothing! I didn't realize how hot it was getting out here. Come on, let's go inside!"

Ash chuckled at the memory before turning to look at Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder. "You ready, buddy?"

"Pi!" Pikachu confirmed. He adored Misty, so any day the little mouse got to see her was among the best.

Ash grinned before walking towards his favorite aspect of the gym's new design: a short white bridge that hovered above the water surrounding the building. The doors slid open automatically as soon as he got in front of them, granting him access to the gym's expansive lobby. Just as he expected, however, no one was there to greet him. That wasn't really Misty's job…which was the problem.

"Ugh, how many of you little brats do I have to see tod-OH MY GOSH!"

Ash winced and quickly reached for his ears in a belated effort to guard his hearing. Pikachu, meanwhile, pulled off a near similar reaction.

"The actual Indigo Conference champion? In our gym?"

Slowly re-opening his eyes, Ash found himself face-to-face with a familiar blue haired woman. "Violet, I come here all the time."

"Hardly enough!" Violet refuted with a huff, folding her arms. "Like, it wouldn't be so bad to see you a little more often. You sure have gotten way more fun to look at!"

Ash shifted uncomfortably. He didn't exactly take that as a compliment, though he managed to eek out a dull, "thank you?"

"Oh, hang on!" Violet cried, racing towards the vacant front desk.

"Where would I go?" Ash genuinely asked. "I just got here."

"Don't move!" Violet shouted, quickly glaring at Ash before turning her attention back onto the desk.

Ash groaned and rolled his eyes, watching as the middle Sensational Sister rummaged through what he could only imagine was a sea of clutter. Misty was very neat and organized, but her older sisters were anything but. Ash wasn't the tidiest person either, but the Sensational Sisters were for sure a step worse than him…if not more. Violet suddenly let out a cheer of excitement before shuffling back towards Ash with a piece of paper in her hands. "Could you, like, sign this?"

She thrust the paper directly into Ash's face, revealing it to be a photograph of himself. Ash's discomfort managed to increase, but feeling trapped, he smiled nervously and replied, "yeah, sure."

He took the photo from Violet and was quickly handed a pen as well. Holding the 8x10 against his thigh, Ash bent over and quickly scribbled his autograph across the glossy surface before handing it and the pen back to her.

"My friends are going to be so jealous!" She squealed, beaming at the photograph.

"Glad I could help," Ash chuckled lowly. "So, where's Mi- "

"IS THAT HIM?!"

Ash groaned and stuck a finger in his ear. "Okay, I'm on the verge of losing my hearing now."

Violet was quickly pushed out of the way by her stunned second younger sister, who took a big step towards Ash once the lane was clear. "Wow, it is!"

"Do you guys just like to ignore the fact I've visited here before?" Ash deadpanned.

"No, but you were never a champion before now," Lily bluntly replied.

"I came here after I became the Alola champion!" Ash cried.

"Not nearly as big of a deal as this one," Lily refuted before turning her head and realizing Violet was holding a picture. "Hold on! Is that an autographed photo?!"

Violet teasingly winked at her sister. "Sure is! Ash signed it just for me!"

"That's no fair! I don't have anything for him to sign!" Lily whined. She suddenly stopped to think, muttering, "actually…"

Ripping the pen out of Violet's hand, Lily tapped it against her chest and purred, "this could work."

Ash's distress reached an all-time high, his face immediately flashing red as he became completely flustered.

"Would you two leave him alone?!"

Ash whipped his head to the right, relief flooding over him as soon as he saw Misty standing in the doorway to the battle area.

"We're not doing anything to him!" Lily gasped, offended by the very idea.

"You just asked him to sign your chest," Misty droned, marching forward so she could snatch the pen from Lily. "That's basically harassment."

"Not when he's your boyfriend it isn't," Lily sighed.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Misty practically shrieked, lashing at her pink haired sister's arm with the pen. "And even if he was, that would actually make what you did even creepier!"

"You're right, Lily is a total perv," Violet agreed, earning a scowl from the aforementioned woman. "But look! I got something totally not weird signed by Ash! Wasn't that sweet of him?"

Misty groaned as Violet held the photo in front of her face. "Just because it's not as weird doesn't mean it's not annoying. Ash has been chased down by fans and signing autographs every single day since he won the Indigo Conference. He came here to get away from that kind of stuff!"

"Don't worry, Mist, it wasn't that big of a deal!" Ash assured her. "Well, the picture wasn't, anyway."

Pikachu squeaked and jumped into Misty's arms, earning a smile from the gym leader as she rubbed her cheek against the top of his head. "Hi, Pikachu! It's nice to see you again!"

"You always seem more excited to see him than me," Ash grumbled, pouting as he folded his arms. Violet and Lily, meanwhile, exchanged curious looks.

"Hey, I just swooped in to save you from these two bimbos," Misty quipped, nodding towards her sisters who quickly began to protest. "I'm practically your knight in shining armor!"

Ash's pout was soon replaced with a grin so wide Misty was sure it could've cracked his face in half. "You really think so, huh?"

"I do," Misty confirmed with a short giggle, nodding her head. "Come on! We can go hang out in the battle area. Violet, Lily, I'm going to take the rest of the day off. If any challengers come by, please tell them to drop by tomorrow instead."

"Of course, that's what we're best at!" Violet crowed.

"But we're even better at just giving away badges," Lily suggested, nudging her younger sister's shoulder.

"No, don't you dare!" Misty scolded, shrugging Lily off of her. "Just ask any trainers who come by looking for a gym battle to be patient. I'm sure they'll understand." She shifted her eyes towards Ash, who was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Actually, they might not. But I don't care. I'm not just giving out gym badges."

"Aw, but it'd be so much easier!" Lily whined.

"Absolutely not," Misty sighed, grabbing Ash's arm and surprising him as she started to tug him towards the battle area, leaving her sisters behind before they could argue with her any further.

"Hey, where's Daisy?" Ash asked, looking straight ahead at the battlefield as it came into his line of sight. Just being able to see it got his blood pumping. "I'm kind of surprised she didn't jump out at me too."

Misty looked over her shoulder at him and smirked. "She's out on a date with Tracey."

"Again?" Ash marveled, watching as Pikachu jumped out of Misty's arms to excitedly greet her Psyduck, who had been standing guard on the battlefield. "I'm kind of surprised you let her do that while the gym is so busy."

"Honestly, it's better than having her here trying to give away Cascade Badges like candy," Misty quipped. "Besides, she and Tracey are pretty cute together! They make each other so happy, it's really hard to say no."

"It's never weird for you to see them like…that?" Ash asked, unsure of how else to word it.

"It was a little bit, at first," Misty admitted. "But like I said, they seem to work well together! And Tracey is so much nicer and smarter and more motivated than any guy Daisy has dated before. I'm all for anyone who can get her on a better track."

Ash chuckled a bit at her explanation. "Dating seems like a lot to think about."

Misty smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. If you know how you feel about someone, then I think it's pretty effortless."

Ash tilted his head a bit and allowed his eyes to travel downwards, to where Misty was still clutching his arm. She quickly noticed him staring and retracted her hand, blushing as she laughed nervously.

"Sorry," she hurriedly apologized.

"Nah, you're fine!" Ash brightly replied.

"So, what brings you here?" Misty asked, holding her hands behind her back. "I thought you'd be busy with all your champion duties."

"I'm allowed to take a break every once in a while!" Ash laughed. "I wanted to spend it with you."

Misty's blush intensified, but when she glanced at Ash, he looked positively confused. He still wasn't getting it. "Oh? And do what?"

Now it was Ash's turn to shrug. "I don't know. You've just seemed kinda distant since the end of the Indigo Conference. I wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me or anything like that."

Misty smiled sadly and shook her head. "Of course I'm not mad at you, Ash. I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Oh, good!" Ash sighed heavily, obviously quite relieved to hear that. He quickly became flustered, however, and cried, "That you're not mad at me, I mean! Not that you're stressed out."

Smirking, Misty assured him, "It's fine, I know what you meant."

"Well, in that case, we should try and do something to get your mind off that kind of stuff!" Ash encouraged. "How about a Pokémon battle?"

Pikachu's ears perked at the suggestion, but quickly lowered once Misty groaned. "I don't know about that."

"Why not?" Ash whined, sounding much more like a child than a 21-year-old man. "You always love battling against me!"

"Yeah, but I just don't feel like it," Misty muttered, refusing to let Ash know the real reason for her hesitance.

"Come on, let's give it a try!" Ash pushed. "I bet once we start, you'll forget all about whatever's bothering you!"

Misty let out an aggravated sigh and raised an eyebrow. "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Nope," Ash easily replied. "But you already knew that!"

A smile finally reappeared on Misty's face, and much to Ash's surprise, he felt the slightest of flutters in his stomach.

"Fine, you win," Misty conceded, folding her arms. "I'll have a battle with you."

"YES!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist and racing towards the challenger's box, Pikachu following after him. "I promise I'll give you my best!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less out of you," Misty bantered, walking far more calmly towards her own box and silently directing Psyduck off of the field.

"How's a one-on-one sound?" Ash asked. "Nice and quick!"

"Bold to assume any battle between you and I would be nice and quick," Misty snickered.

Ash couldn't help but to agree. "Yeah, we do have some of our best battles together, don't we?"

"I might be biased, but I'd certainly say so!" Misty chirped. Throughout their entire exchange, her smile had only managed to grow wider. "You want me to send out my Pokémon first?"

"Nah, I'll show you who I'm working with," Ash replied. "Then you can have the first move!"

"What a gentleman," Misty teased, gently inclining her head.

Those darn Butterfree went off in Ash's core again, this time just a little stronger than before. Regardless, he managed to shake them off and reach towards his waist, stopping when Pikachu came trotting towards him.

"Pi-ka, Pikapi?" Pikachu squeaked.

"Sorry buddy," Ash apologized, smiling kindly at his partner. "But I want to give someone else a turn! You battle against Misty all the time."

Pikachu huffed and crossed his little arms, earning an amused laugh from Misty. "I can't believe he used to refuse to battle me! I think I've become his favorite opponent. Is that right, Pikachu?"

The mouse perked up at Misty's question and called back with an affirmative, "chu!"

Still smirking, Ash shook his head as he retrieved one of his poke balls. "Squirtle, I choose you!"

Misty's eyes lit up as the tiny turtle Pokémon materialized before her. "It's been a long time since I battled Squirtle!"

"I figured a water type battle would be interesting," Ash explained. "And when we're talking water types, Squirtle is my number one!"

"Squir!" Squirtle proudly agreed, banging on his chest.

"Interesting for sure," Misty purred, pulling out her own poke ball. "Okay then. Corsola, let's go!"

The coral Pokémon popped out of the sphere, chirping excitedly as soon as she saw Squirtle.

"Corsola, I know you two are friends, but we have to put our all into this battle!" Misty encouraged her chosen partner.

"Cor!" Corsola cried.

Chuckling, Ash held his arm out and offered, "like I said, you have the first move!"

"Don't mind if we do!" Misty called. "Corsola, spike cannon!"

Corsola began to glow white as she fired off similarly radiant barbs towards Squirtle.

"Dodge it!" Ash commanded.

Squirtle jumped in the air, the spike cannon petering out beneath his feet.

"Great!" Ash cheered. "Now, use hydro pump!"

Retreating into his shell, Squirtle began to rapidly spin around as he fired a powerful jet of water from his mouth that filtered through the shell's openings. Before Misty could give an order, Corsola was struck by the attack, causing her to cry out as she went flying backwards.

"Corsola!" Misty cried before grunting, "Squirtle's gotten even faster."

"You know how I feel about speed!" Ash gloated as Squirtle landed back in front of him.

"Oh yeah?" Misty challenged. "Well, we're fast too! Corsola, show them your tackle!"

As Corsola charged towards Squirtle, Ash couldn't help but to stare at Misty. She had thrown her arm out in front of her when she'd ordered tackle, and it was then that he noticed the gentle, sloping muscles in her otherwise slender limb. His eyes shifted down ever so slightly, where Misty's exposed midriff was on display. That, much like her arm, was noticeably toned. Ash assumed it was from all the swimming and training with her Pokémon that she did, but he had never noticed that about her before. And her ivory skin was so smooth, and so light…she practically glowed thanks to the natural sunlight that poured in through the gym's windows.

"Pikapi!"

Ash was snapped back into reality by Pikachu's alarmed cry, just in time to watch Corsola collide with Squirtle.

"Ah, no!" Ash hissed as his water type rolled towards him.

"What's the matter, Ash?" Misty playfully taunted. "Got distracted?"

His heart skipped a beat, which was even stranger to him than all the fluttering in his stomach he'd felt before. Choosing to ignore it for the time being, Ash refuted, "of course not! Squirtle, quick, skull bash!"

The tiny turtle popped back up and immediately rammed his head into Corsola before the coral Pokémon could move far enough away from him.

"Close combat battle, huh?" Misty muttered. "Alright then, bubble beam!"

Corsola opened her mouth and returned the favor to Squirtle, firing off a close-range bubble beam attack.

The battle raged on like that for a while longer, both Pokémon taking their licks. The turning point came, however, after Misty had Corsola use recover and then quickly turn around with another tackle. That ultimately proved to be the breaking point for Squirtle, who struggled to stand right after and ultimately collapsed into a heap on the battlefield.

"Squirtle, no!" Ash cried, running over to his Pokémon and scooping him up. "Are you okay?"

"Squir," Squirtle murmured, wearily opening his eyes and smiling at Ash.

"Good," Ash sighed.

"Is Squirtle alright?"

Ash glanced up and found Misty hovering over him, her hands grasping at her bent knees.

"Yeah, he's just fine!" Ash assured her. "A good rest and he should be okay."

Misty smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

Now Ash's heart was speeding up. He couldn't understand what, for the life of him, was going on. Before, when he'd looked at Misty a little too long, his heart had skipped a bit. Now, however, staring into her sparkling, sea green eyes, his heart was practically racing.

Something really weird is going on…

"Are you alright?"

Ash just barely registered that Misty's lips were moving, and that she had asked him that question. Shaking his head out, he confirmed, "yep, all good! I think I'm just…amazed at how good that battle was! You had a really good strategy, and you beat me fair and square."

"Yeah, but it sure was close," Misty commented. "It's no wonder you're the Indigo Conference champion!"

"That's nice of you," Ash chuckled, scratching his temple. "But I don't want to stop there! I want to become the Kanto champion. And to do that, I've got to focus on beating the Elite Four and then Lance. I know it's gonna be a lot of work, but it'll be worth it!"

Misty shrunk a little at his words, bringing a look of concern to Ash's face. "I think it's great that you're so motivated, Ash. It's actually one of my favorite things about you…"

He blinked as she trailed off. "Really? You don't sound so sure about that."

He'd said it with a nervous chuckle, but that did nothing to placate Misty. "I am. I'm sorry. I'm just so…"

"Stressed out?" Ash suggested once she trailed off again.

"Yeah," Misty sighed. "Listen, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, kay? Keep an eye on Psyduck for me."

Ash turned his head and realized that Pikachu had gone back to playing with Psyduck, now joined by Corsola, as had Squirtle, who had recovered enough to leave his arms and join his fellow Pokémon. He then looked back at Misty, offering her a sweet smile. "Sure, no problem!"

Misty gave him her own weak grin in return before hastily leaving the battle area, Ash watching her the whole time. She made her way down the hall and into the gym's locker room, throwing herself down on one of the benches and burying her face in her hands.

"It absolutely is a problem."

She dejectedly lowered her hands in order to dig through the backpack she'd left by the bench's leg, retrieving her cell phone. She turned it on and scrolled through her voicemails, selecting the latest one and pressing play before holding the device against her ear.

"Hello, Misty. This is Agatha, of Kanto's Elite Four. I'm calling because I've been reviewing your gym records along with senior members of the Pokémon League, and we're quite impressed with your body of work. We are looking for potential candidates to fill in a vacancy within the Elite Four, and we were hoping to interview you as one of the candidates. If you're interested, please give me a call back and I'll be happy to schedule a meeting at the Indigo Plateau. I know it's a lot to think about…please take your time. But we really think this could be the right fit for you to further yourself as a trainer."

Misty lowered her phone and dropped it in her lap, now propping her head up with her hands.

"Maybe it is the right fit…but I really don't want to be the one who's going to stop him from reaching his dreams."

Yep, most of you saw that coming. There are still lots of fun surprises to come, however! Looking forward to taking you guys on this journey.

See you all next time!