(edited.2020.04.01)
Locked Away, Chapter 18
The Pokemon center was swamped—but it was also a lot larger than Ash had ever imagined. Even with as many people as they found that morning, most of the hallways were still empty and there was plenty of staff to treat everyone fairly. The hallways were lined like hotel rooms; spanning several sections of bedrooms down the south wing, where his and Misty's bedroom was. On the east side spanned the front lobby, while the west cradled a cafeteria area, which was where most of the noise came from. His pants were still riddled with dirt from his run to Pewter City, his bones ached beneath every twist and pull of his skin, and yet he marched on—driven both by curiosity and the blind necessity to be as far away from Misty as possible.
She simply had a way to dig under his skin; talking about walking around like that. Jeeze! How lewd!
Besides; the crater in his stomach only amplified the closer he walked to the cafeteria, his entire body swayed with thirst as he licked his lips. How long had it been since he had water? He was starving on top of that; not to mention the ache in his back where he slept on a rock the night prior.
"Pika..." The small rodent on his shoulder echoed the trainer's thoughts and he nodded his head. Ash was only a skip and a hop away from devouring the entire kitchen, only to be stopped by the observation of the outrageous prices listed above the countertop.
"Eleven dollars for a sandwich?" he mused painfully, nearly dropping togepi from surprise. The egg shrilled at him in distress as he made his way to the counter, eyebrows knit tiredly.
Well, he thought bitterly, at least water is free. He reconciled as he approached the woman behind the counter and inhaled, searching for the cheapest prices possible.
After taking a few minutes to order two sandwiches, oddly enough the cheapest item on the menu, two sealed cups of water and a dish of "New and Improved" poke food, Ash found his way to the cashier, fishing for his wallet in his back pocket—still an oddity in his life, as he never recalled having to carry one before waking up. Even after hours of shopping with the Waterflower sisters, spending money was still a concept he struggled to grasp eloquently.
"That's it for you?" The snarly woman across the counter from him smacked gum between her lips. Ash nodded with a curt smile and handed her a few bills—to which she gave improper change back, shorting Ash a few dollars, but he was in no mood to haggle her for it—no, at the smell of food; his mind was blurred and sought for only that.
"Thanks," he mumbled, snatching the tray that the sustenance was placed on and rushed away from the counter—breakfast was still being served at the small waffle place beside the sandwich counter, but he was not willing to fork over twenty-some dollars for a smaller amount of food. What kind of place was this? He suddenly missed mornings at the Cerulean City gym when he woke up to the smell of burnt cereal and the flood of dark-roast coffee. His stomach churned at the thought, managing to flip itself as he glanced at pikachu who seemed lost in trying to open the container handed to him. Pikachu poked the metal top with his nails, and when that didn't work, he attempted to bite down on it. Ash chuckled slightly.
Ash wondered briefly if the electrical pokemon would enjoy life at the water-pokemon gym... it would be different but...
"Did you hear about the recent league champion?" A trainer hissed from a seat not far from Ash's, derailing his thoughts as his ears twitched slightly. Ash maneuvered his tray to the table and then rest togepi and pikachu on the table. After careful consideration, he brushed off the conversation he overheard. It was impolite to listen in on other conversations; besides, food.
Food.
"Here, pikachu." Ash grimaced, popping the lid off the new can of food that togepi and pikachu immediately devoured. Ash's face scrunched up as he unwrapped his simple ham and cheese sandwich. The yellow mouse smiled at its trainer, hunger finally dealt with. Clearly, a sensation he had long since forgotten. They hadn't seen one another in months, and yet there was nothing odd about being reunited with the small rodent, they shared a short smile before togepi interjected with a cute shrill.
"That's right, the family is back together," almost, he added as a painful afterthought while casting his eyes at his bread.
Seeing his gaze, pikachu patted the trainer confidently on the hand, as if suggesting Ash shouldn't overthink, not about Brock, or pokemon in general. He needed to keep his eyes focused on his goal; whatever that was right now, though, he wasn't sure. Where was he supposed to go from here? Taking a bite from his sandwich he blinked at his companions. He had togepi, who was still a baby, and pikachu, who was somewhere between where they left off, and where they left off, electrocuted on the side of the road. Still, as disobedient and lazy as the very first day, he got him, yet as caring as he always remembered him. Ash grimaced at pikachu. From beside pikachu, togepi nodded its approval while wagging a pellet at Ash's head with a determined look in its eye.
"Thanks, guys." he smiled, amazed at their understanding of his confusion; but, it was short-lived as a long sigh was drawn from pikachu who pointed to the red container at the edge of the table and pouted brown, watery eyes at Ash.
"Pika?"
"No." Ash said sternly, pushing the ketchup bottle away from his overweight companion. "What in the world did Cole and Mom feed you?" He added while sparks flew from pikachu's cheeks, insulted by his choice of words.
"Pika, pika-chu!?" It hissed, poking up its chubby paws that caused Ash to wave his hands defensively.
"I'm not saying you're big." He spit the words nervously, scratching at the back of his head. "I'm just saying that you need to eat better. No Ketchup, it's full of sugar." He added, pouring some of his water into a dish beside the whining pokemon who had frantically sunk to the base of the table, withering in its own mesh of pity. Ash was left to finish his sandwich.
"Pika pika..."
"You're the one who wanted to travel with me again. You're too old to eat so horribly. Besides; if Misty saw me feeding you people food she would wring my neck." He grouched at the yellow pokemon which spat its teeth at its trainer and hissed.
"Pika pikachupi." He taunted, causing Ash's shoulders to rile up.
"I am not scared of her!" He hissed, gathering a look from one of the people who sat near his table; watching as he muttered to his pokemon like they were human. Apparently, as togepi looked around from its small spot on the table, speaking to pokemon in such a way wasn't a normal occurrence.
"Toge...briii~" He sang to Ash, who blinked. Ash put his head down and shushed pikachu.
"Yeah, I guess." He said; his words caused pikachu to crawl back onto the seat at the table and nibble on the dry, hard poke-food that Ash purchased for him. A pleasant silence engulfed the trainer and his two pokemon as they gnawed through their food, the groups around them—which Ash still paid no mind to, returning to their bode of conversation.
"I heard Team Rocket is behind it!" He overheard from the hiss of rain outside.
Intrigued, his eyes shifted from watching togepi delicately gnawing on a poke-pellet, to a small group of trainers seated around a red table in the center of the cafeteria. He hadn't noticed before, probably due to the growl in his now sated stomach, but there were several groups of trainers scattered around the small cafe, with Ash seated as the only lone trainer in the midst of people between the ages of ten and thirty-five. People from every walk gathered in the hall to avoid the storm outside, and Ash wondered how he hadn't noticed before.
"I think it's about time the champions get hit anyways; it's about time they get treated like us coordinators."
Coordinators? Ash thought skeptically, eyebrows raising while pikachu, took advantage of Ash's distraction and slipped back onto the table to carefully remove the bottle of ketchup. Gleeful at his success, it was short-lived as Ash, who knew the pokemon like the back of his hand, snaked the ketchup out of his partners' greedy paws before he could unclasp the lid and without taking his eyes off the coordinators. Effortlessly, Ash tucked the ketchup bottle beside him, listening to the conversation beside him as pikachu whined to togepi about how 'unfair' Ash was being.
"This is the third one. I think it's because the current champion doesn't want to be dethroned. Real trustworthy politicians, huh?" A girl with brown hair hissed to her friends who snickered; they spoke loudly, almost like they wanted people to hear what they had to say. Such was the fearless life of sitting in a group of six.
"-After all these stupid unfair regulations they keep mandating, they should have a run for their money." Ash sipped his water, listening carefully to the short bursts in conversation; some of their sentences being muffled out—and only catching the loudest, rudest comments that came from a boy in a purple sweater and green hair.
"You think it's okay for any trainer to be kidnapped?" Silence hissed through the room at the sudden interruption while Ash calmly watched the events unfold. A woman probably around Misty's age with purple hair stood up from her seated position near the wall opposite Ash; she had three other trainers beside her who remained seated, but had stern, angry faces plastered in the direction of the coordinators.
"I think it's okay for a battler to be kicked off their high horse, yes." The same boy from before hissed at her while also standing. Ash blinked, licking his lips slightly, instinctively tucking the sandwich he purchased for Misty beside togepi.
"How is getting kidnapped synonymous with that?" The purple-haired trainer, who Ash assumed by this point was a battler herself, snapped. "That trainer and their pokemon could be seriously injured!"
"So what? One less prick walking on the streets!" Another from the first group of coordinators chanted, breaking the uneven silence. He quickly added "When coordinators go missing no one bats an eyelash!" while slamming his palms onto the table. "But the moment a precious battler goes missing it makes regional news? Talk about hypocrisy!"
"Well maybe if you all weren't such pompous assholes people would care more!" A male shouted from behind the woman. Ash's gaze, worriedly switched to them and he blinked, sharing a glance with his two pokemon seated at the table with him. He had no idea what was going on. He looked around for cameras, half expecting to discover this was a skit.
"See, even now! You think you're so much better than us!" the coordinators shouted, a rowdy tension echoed between the groups who were standing on their feet.
"Because we are better than you!" The purple-haired girl hissed, and at this moment Ash started to rise as the coordinator moved towards her.
"What did you say!?" He screamed vehemently flicking his wrist upward, pushing his bangs from his face. Ash flinched, believed he would strike the woman, but he fixed his hair. Ash waited until the woman raised her hands, and then finally stepped in, throwing his hands up. Despite pikachu's antics for ketchup, he followed with a threateningly electricity sparking from his cheeks.
"Stop fighting!" Ash screamed, standing between the two groups of enraged people.
Ash's bellowing voice, deep with age and thick from the coarse run of that morning silenced the individuals squabble; only to have said silence disrupted by the same purple-sweater wearing man.
"What the hell do you know?" she questioned as Ash growled.
"I know this is stupid! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Ash screamed, finally catching a glimpse of the male coordinator in question, his eyes were lime green-he knew him from somewhere, but he wouldn't have time to think about it. Right now, his mouth was turned downward in a snarl and beside him, a man with purple, shoulder-length hair sat with narrowed eyes. Ash glanced at the group across from them, the battlers made no immediate movements; at least he had their attention. With Pikachu at his feet growling with electrical current amplified by the brewing thunder, no one moved.
"As trainers and human beings; you have no right to complain about each other—look at yourselves. When did training pokemon become about titles? We should be working together." Ash rephrased words MIity used while venting about politics in hope that it would reach the trainers, but both groups only rolled their eyes.
"Right, and you would know because you're traveling with a gym leader?" The battler he had just tried to defend spat at him; followed with a quick agreement by the green-haired coordinator. The words stung, and at least they found something they could agree on. That was a win, right? Word spread fast—and word was that people didn't like gym leaders; how uncanny. Ash fought the urge to bite back at them, and instead inhaled.
"Whatever; just stop acting like children. We're all trainers; show some respect." When that didn't seem to work, Ash tried to reason with them. "Plus, it's not like anyone can leave until the weather clears up. Might as well save the pokemon center the hassle of cleaning up after you." Ash growled. Pikachu, who didn't like the jab at Misty, echoed his comments with a pulsating shock from his red cheeks that branched no further than his paws. Both opposing parties backed down at the snarl in his cheeky expression and rolled their eyes.
"They're not worth it anyway." Both groups uttered in unison while slumping back into the seats of their respective tables, whispering amongst one another while Ash was left standing with his hands at his sides. Ignored, and yet wholly embraced.
Ash's shoulders slumped, almost expecting more to happen but as he pensively looked between the two groups, they turned away from him dejectedly, and Ash whole-hardheartedly seethed. What was wrong with people? In the distance, he heard the report from the television sounding off a list of a missing person reports as he stalked away to his table where he collected his few items, and then stormed out of the cafeteria. If nothing else, he made a statement, and each group watched him leave—specifically, the boy with green hair who sipped tea.
How stupid. Ash thought bitterly while tracing his steps back to their room; Pikachu followed on his heels while Ash carried togepi under his right arm like a ball; the rest of his goods were tossed lazily into the plastic bag he was given when he ordered his food as he stomped down the hallway, out of the lobby and back into the south corridor of rooms.
Never in hundred years would he have actually believed Misty when she said coordinators and battlers didn't get along! Sure, she mentioned it, but wouldn't they have patched that up by now? Suggesting that anyone kidnapped deserved it, not only that, adamantly disrespecting gym leaders for no good reason. What was wrong with people? He had briefly heard in the news of the last few years: big trainers going missing when he was living at Cerulean City, but because of Misty's insistence that he stop living and breathing the news station; he missed most of the reports. Team Rocket said the coordinators, but they were disbanded weren't they?
With these thoughts in his head, he crashed back into the shared room, swinging open the door thoughtlessly; almost missing Misty who was curled up on her bed, combing out the knots in her growing hair. He snarled while dropping the plastic bag onto his bed and tugged on the collar of his light jacket before pulling it off and placing togepi on top of it. The nerve of those trainers! Misty watched him with glowing cerulean eyes as he kicked off his muddy shoes again and pikachu passively sent words of support that fell on deaf ears. Misty inhaled sharp.
"Did something happen?" She asked, finally catching his attention with a sharp shudder. He didn't turn to face her; but she saw the intense blush on his face, having been caught in his tantrum. Slowly, he turned and slumped onto his bed where togepi rolled over to him and pikachu pawed his thigh. He cradled his head with his right hand, pinching the bridge of his nose while frowning.
"...Misty." He muttered, unsure of where to start. "What happened between coordinators and battlers?"
"What?" Misty blinked, Ash still hadn't looked up at her. "Why?"
"There was a spat in the cafeteria." He muttered, as her eyes fell on the bag rested beside him. Her stomach growled loudly, and without hesitation he tossed the bag at her which she caught with ease.
"You didn't get involved did you?" Misty grimaced her tone pained, worried that Ash might have already been starting trouble. Where he started trouble reflected on the gym as a whole.
"No. I actually intervened...or tried to, at least." He muttered pathetically, rubbing his face. Misty hummed and twisted her lips as she dug through the bag of goodies, discovering a sealed cup of water and a crumpled sandwich. She took both out, and rested them beside her as she started to unwrap the bread.
Effortlessly, her voice pitched. "And what happened?"
"They blew me off...and insulted you?" He muttered, finally gazing up at her only to find himself immediately looking away from her toned body shrouded beneath his baggy black shirt and pants. At least it wasn't as curve-hugging as her last attire—or wet.
"That's to be expected. As I said before, coordinators are still pretty upset about the current political system." She said nonchalantly, biting into her sandwich; giving no fault to the battlers. Ash gave her a baffled look.
"Only coordinators? Why?"
"Because they have little to no chance of getting a distinguished title outside of 'top coordinator', but you already know that." She suggested, having had this conversation with him some time ago. Ash's face drew into a deep frown.
"And you're okay with that?"
At his words, Misty's sea-green eyes turned to him, though her face was still turned down so she looked menacing, but Ash kept their gaze glued; refusing to acknowledge anything but those intimidating eyes. He had to force himself not to look away, and he swallowed hard to do so.
"I'm... on the fence about it. I think the whole system stinks." Misty said subjectively, effectively ending the questions. He inhaled sharply; Misty didn't like the traditional political system where the best 'trainer' was the leader of their region; hell, their country. She was never shy about such things; so he exhaled quickly, his skin itching. But wasn't there more to it? There had to be? Otherwise, couldn't coordinators simply change positions, and become battlers if they were so passionate about getting into office? He didn't understand.
"So why did you become a gym leader? Aren't you expected to have some say in... well, everything?" He asked suddenly, digging his fingers into the mattress below.
"Why, huh?" She laughed dismissively, flicking her wet hair over her shoulder as she straightened her back. "I already told you, my parents were the gym leader before my sisters and I; really, I've always been a gym leader, I suppose..." Misty suggested, suddenly losing her appetite as she felt the conversation curve into uncharted territory between the two of them—suddenly, she missed the absent-minded Ash who followed her tirelessly through this whole ordeal, never asking questions. As she looked into the determined brown eyes before her, she supposed those times were gone.
"But, Mist." he paused, and her eyes narrowed at the use of her nickname. "...You... Do you even like it? It doesn't seem like you do."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" She snapped instantly partially insulted, and his back straightened.
"Well..." His face turned red, and he gnawed on his lip. "It's just that... Well, you know, 'Gym Leader Misty' and 'Misty' are two different people. You complain about the gym a lot and..." He stammered, rubbing his neck half-way through, having lost his nerve upon seeing Misty's hostile reaction.
"I love being a gym leader." She argued though the venom in her voice carried enough that Ash looked into her sea-green pools once more. "...I loved being a gym leader..." She corrected morbidly, tearing her eyes away from Ash's while rubbing her temple. She didn't want to talk about this.
Invigorated by her weak reply, Ash inhaled bravely. "So what's changed?"
"Giovanni soiled our good name... People think we're all cheats... Plus, it's a job—money...and secondly I.. uh..." She looked at Ash and her nose scrunched up. She cleared her throat, having never actually voiced this plan to anyone. Ever.
"I want to become an Elite-Four member." She said hesitantly, watching the light enter Ash's eyes as if her knowledge of the subject made so much sense now; basking on his quick reply.
"But you said they were all corrupt? That must mean-" He choked on his own excitement and squeezed his hands into fists. Misty's mouth drew into a line as she swiped a stray hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, I know; that's why I applied." She said calmly. "You were asleep for most of it, but before Giovanni was captured and Team Rocket was put away, things were growing hostile between everyone who trained pokemon differently, not just coordinators and battlers. That girl, Dawn, she was... a very loud advocate for coordinator equal rights, and led a few..." She coughed to clear her throat and then looked at Ash, fidgeting her fingers in her borrowed baggy jeans. "What she did doesn't matter—what matters is my application is still being processed; as a Gym Leader, I had one of the first acknowledgments to become an Elite Four member; but since Giovanni turned out to be the scum of the earth, the chief exects. and champions are re-thinking their process... I have a lot more hoops to jump through."
She paused, inhaling and crossing her arms. "The background check is extensive; that's why I'm a little crazy about the gym. I need the position... I don't dislike being a gym leader, it's just... stressful right now." She clarified, glancing at the floor, really, anywhere besides Ash.
"You want to fix things from the inside?" Ash asked, blinking.
"Sort of, I guess." She flushed and fidgeted while rubbing the back of her neck. It was exactly that.
"So that's why you've stayed a gym leader for so long, even though you get harassed and bullied?"
"Well, gym leaders don't have much authority anymore, as I said before, we're just the scapegoats...but that's why I'm still a gym leader; and will probably always be a gym leader."
Carefully, his mouth tugged into a grin, eyes squinted as he smiled wildly at her. "That's kind of heroic," he said amused and Misty pouted at him with narrowed eyes.
"I guess. But really, Agatha shouldn't have stepped down as an Elite Four member when she did and we might not have so many friggin problems." Misty mused, dodging the subject from venturing further into her private life. Ash grinned at the mention of the old woman; a small twinkle forming in his eyes.
"If it's so important, why don't you go back?" He asked suddenly, shoulders lowering comfortably.
"Back to where?" She asked, caught up in her own thoughts.
He pointed at her. "To the gym."
"...well, I would, but someone had to run away like a jerk." She hissed, pointing at him accusingly as he flinched away from her. He knew it was more than that, but he wasn't about to back down from the challenge.
"Me? Don't blame this on me. Besides, you said I'm not a jerk, you big liar." He teased, but the effort was lost as she launched a pillow directly at his head, causing him to tumble backward and over top of togepi.
"Find a new excuse!" She hissed, suddenly starving once again as she practically inhaled her sandwich. Ash winced at the sight—she could wolf one of those back when she wanted to. Eyes wide like saucers, he sat up with an intense glare in her direction as she sipped her water and then flipped to lay on her back. With a deep sigh, she blinked slowly.
"...Are we okay?" She asked oddly.
"...I guess so." He said happily, "Just don't lie to me again...please." He warned her and she gave a weak smile.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she smiled. "I wouldn't count on it."
His heart pattered in his chest and he inhaled. "Because it was my decision you know..."
"...Yeah, yeah. I was wrong; is that what you want to hear?"
"...Well, I wouldn't object to marking it on the calendar: the day Misty Waterflower admit to being wrong." and then another pillow flew at his head, leaving him snickering as he cradled them in his hands; they still smelled like her.
"We should nap, and then visit Brock. I'm tired." Misty whined, forcing her eyes closed as she turned away from him. Ash snickered.
"You can nap, I still need a shower." he gestured to his dirty clothes, but Misty didn't look up to see him, instead; she wrapped her forearm above her eyes, hiding them in the crook of her arm. Her chest rose and fell quickly with a sigh. Ash pursed his lips skeptically and scooped up his two pokemon companions as he marched over to her bed, and dropped them on top of her without holding back.
"...opfh," She grunted, wheezing as the two pokemon growled at Ash as he tucked his hands onto the bunk above her bed and looked down at her.
"I should say sorry as well," He paused, glancing at pikachu who hissed, trying to untangle himself from the shrilling egg pokemon. "For exploding on you the way that I did, at the gym, in Viridian... you know... But... well, you've always stuck your neck out for me regardless, so instead I'll say thank you." He muttered with a level of calm that surprised even himself as he grinned down at her. She blinked once, tucking her hand over her chest.
Ba-thump. Her heart pounded in her chest as a faint blush crawled over her cheeks as she gazed up at his shadowed face from the position he was standing. Mesmerized by the way his eye crinkled gently when he smiled and the tug of his natural, easy smile. His tanned features only stained red from the winter wind and his hair matted to his neck from the rain; her breath escaped her.
"...You..." She stammered, which was strange for her—she rarely stammered. "You're welcome." She decided, trying to press herself further into the mattress, trying to hide from his gaze as he opened his eyes once more to watch her.
"And thanks for sharing... You don't have to be scared to talk to me, Mist. We're friends, right?" His voice, which seemed so much raspier and deeper than usual breathed fire into her veins, and once more, her heart gave a brief, electric pang.
"Right." She assured him but mostly wanted him to go away—fighting the urge to kick and punch at him. However, after his comments, he turned away on his own; allowing her room to breathe again now that his penetrating gaze was no longer on her own. She reached for, and then squeezed togepi protectively, as if he would offer her support when she needed it. Pikachu shared a snark, knowing gaze at the redhead.
"Pika." He said briefly, its furry brows raised to question her reaction; but it fell on non-understanding ears as Ash gathered his bag to head into the washroom.
"I'll be out in a few, and then we'll go straight to the gym, provided the weather is better." He said while pikachu snarled a tease in Ash's direction which went right over the boy's head. He was such a lady killer, and he didn't even know it. Hopeless.
XoXs
"Should I be worried? You know, since Brock was your supposed repressed sexuality and everything?" Misty joked, walking along the path with a purchased umbrella to protect them from the pouring rain. They shared the large umbrella, Misty wore Ash's spare light jacket, and their wet clothes were tucked into a plastic baggy attached to the front compartment of his green traveling bag; she had long since discarded her ruined purse and instead stuffed her belongings into Ash's front pocket, aside from her cellphone, which was neatly placed in her surprisingly spacious back pocket—she questioned why she never wore men pants before! They were amazing.
She glanced at his scowling face at her remark—not only that, she had plenty of time to recover from whatever that weird sensation was. This was only Ash; after all.
Ash didn't think so. The way she rolled his pants up to her middle calf, and the way they sagged off to the left side of her hip and how his shirt. His shirt fell off her right shoulder made his skin heat up for unknown reasons. When he offered his spare jacket to her, he had done it only to keep her attire in check, and less because he thought it was cold—in fact, even in the rain-soaked weather, he felt like he would overheat. Face bright red, he exhaled at her comment.
"He was not! Sebastian had no idea what he was talking about." Ash mused defensively shifting the umbrella over their heads and almost causing the splotches of rain to fall on Misty's shoulder, she shrunk closer to him, growling at his antics.
"Dr. Abby was the one who mentioned it to me. I had no idea Sebastian said such things." She joked as they turned the corner of the street; hearing a sigh from togepi, who opted to walk alongside the plump pikachu as they made their way to the gym.
They saw it in the distance, just at the end of the street; the bold lettering "PEWTER GYM" screaming at them from the tops of the building and Ash's breath sunk in his chest.
"It doesn't matter because it's not true." Ash denied, looking away from the redhead. Honestly, he didn't know that it wasn't. As he decided earlier. No one really knew anything. The rest of the short walk was met with Misty humming as they pressed forward, walking past the large boulders for which the gym got its name, and into the inner garden—or inner dirt area that led into a stony path to the tall metallic doors.
"So what if he doesn't remember?" Misty snapped suddenly, inhaling as Ash reached to tug open the door.
"...We will deal with that when we get there." Ash mused and threw open the doors with a loud screech from the rusty metal sidings.
Inside was darkness and a smell of dust that projected the smell of a desert. The sound of the screeching door echoed loudly through the empty auditorium, and Misty had half the mind to suggest that the place was empty—Ash knew better, however; remembering this from his dreams. A grin played on his lips as he looked forward, dropping the umbrella quickly enough that Misty glanced at him and paused as pikachu and togepi waddled into the gym, closing their personal umbrellas.
"Maybe he's g-"Misty started but was silenced when Ash shook his head, and a powerful booming voice echoed from the far end of the gym.
"Who enters the Pewter City gym?" Lights flashed on, the blazing intensity of the white light in the darkroom forced the entering travelers to flinch slightly, covering their eyes with their hands. Gasping, Misty rubbed her burning eyes and winced.
"And people complain about my introduction." She muttered under her breath, noticing his dramatic flair. Ash didn't mind as he raised his hand.
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and my companion is here to battle you!" He shouted confidently with such zeal, Misty nearly choked.
"What?!" She screeched throwing up her arms when Ash glanced sideways at her with a knowing and confident grin.
Author's Note:
As always, thank you for all the support you guys have shown me for this story.