Chapter Thirteen

Covered in bandages, bruises, and electrical burns, Pikachu slept in a hospital bed at one of Vermilion City's pokémon centers. Ash was slumped over in a chair by his partner's bedside while Mariah stood across from him. Misty and Brock were with them earlier, but Mariah convinced them to leave and run some errands, mainly laundry and restocking their depleted supplies. They had only gotten to Vermilion City late the day before and had gone to the gym first thing that morning, so they hadn't had time to get anything done until now. Mariah had also gotten their friends to leave, because she wanted to talk to Ash alone. She had hoped he'd speak first, but they had spent the last couple hours in silence. The only sound was the beeping from various machines and the muted crying of a boy in the next room whose sandshrew had, regardless of the type advantage, suffered the same fate as Pikachu after battling Surge's Raichu.

Mariah hated seeing her brother act so defeated. He hadn't done or said much of anything after leaving Vermilion Gym, other than look after Pikachu and sit by his bedside appearing lost in thought. She knew that he had to be hungry since he hadn't eaten anything in several hours, but anytime someone offered him food, he'd set it aside and say he didn't have an appetite, a first for the always hungry boy.

Misty and Brock would be back soon, so she needed to start talking if she wanted privacy, but she was worried she'd say something she shouldn't. She was angry. She was angry at Ash for not listening to her about Surge, she was mad at Surge for being so brutal to his challengers, though she understood he acted that way to fulfill his role as a gym leader, and she was mad at Pikachu for not backing down from Raichu even when it was clear that he would lose.

Pikachu groaned and moved in his sleep, dislodging his blanket. Mariah pulled it back over him before Ash could and gently ran her fingers through his soft fur until he settled down. Her body ached sympathetically for the little guy. Bandages hid more than they revealed, but some wounds were purposefully left uncovered. It was strange to see electrical burns on an electric type, but Surge's raichu was just that strong, stronger than she had anticipated even with her previous knowledge and the rumors she had heard. She thought she knew what to expect from her and Ash's future gym battles and, therefore, would know how to win. Their gym battles in Pewter and Cerulean had bolstered that belief, they had been challenging but doable with moderate effort. However, after witnessing Ash's battle with Surge, her confidence had waned. Knowing a few things about the gym leaders and their pokémon wasn't enough to prepare her for the reality of facing them when they started taking off their kid gloves.

Maybe I shouldn't be upset with Ash. Even if he'd listened to me, I'm not sure that he would've won. Just because I sort of know the future doesn't mean I'll always be right.

"You were right, Riah. You're always right. I should've listened to you." Ash said quietly, contradicting her thoughts.

"What?" She asked, startled.

"You already knew that my strategy wouldn't work, that I'd lose. If I'd listened to you, we could've won and Pikachu wouldn't be here." Ash continued, clenching his hands together as he looked guiltily at his partner.

Mariah shook her head and frowned.

"No, Ash. I didn't knowfor sure that you would lose or what the best strategy was. After seeing Surge battle in person, I don't think speed would've been enough to defeat him. I was wrong. Raichu's better trained than I expected, he may be slow for his species, but he's strong and tough. It wasn't a bad choice for you to focus on strengthening Pikachu's moves. Sure, being faster might've made it easier for Pikachu to dodge and get in a few more hits, but if his moves weren't accurate or strong enough to do much damage, then he wouldn't have been able to win anyway."

He smiled at her crookedly.

"I thought you'd yell at me, not try to cheer me up."

Mariah huffed and turned away.

"Whatever. I'm just not in the mood to yell at you today. You've been acting like a cubone that lost its thick club, all sad and depressed. I don't want to kick a pokémon that's already down."

He chuckled, and the furrows that stressed had carved into his face smoothed out. They fell into a comfortable silence until their friends arrived a short time later. Brock walked through the door and handed Ash and Mariah their bags, which contained their newly laundered clothes and restocked supplies. Misty followed on his heels, stretching her arms upward languidly.

"We're back. How's Pikachu?" Brock asked, smiling as he noticed Ash's improved mood and discreetly giving her a thumbs up.

"He's fine, still hasn't woken up yet. Get everything done?" Mariah replied, also smiling.

Misty sat at the foot of the hospital bed, careful not to disturb Pikachu, and answered for Brock.

"Shopping didn't take too long since we found a nice Poké Mart, but it took forever to get all the stains out of our clothes."

Misty pointed at Ash accusingly.

"Especially yours! Do you wrestle with ground types in your free time? Everything from your shirts to your socks had stains!"

Mariah and Brock exchanged wry smiles as their friends started arguing. When Ash and Misty got a little too loud, a displeased Nurse Joy swept into the room and got between the two.

"Remember, this is a hospital." The pink-haired woman said sternly.

"Sorry, Nurse Joy." Misty and Ash apologized in tandem, bowing.

They all knew better than to tick off Nurse Joy. If you made one mad, then you made them all mad, and after that, staying in pokémon centers became a lot less pleasant.

Nurse Joy calmed down at their sincere apology and gave them a teasing smile that had Mariah self-consciously adjusting her clothes.

Not that she was trying to impress Nurse Joy or anything, it was just a knee jerk reaction to seeing her pretty smile.

"They say if two people fight, they really care about each other."

""Me like him/her? No way!"" The two protested, blushing and turning away from each other.

Nurse Joy chuckled. Becoming more serious, she hesitated for a moment as she looked at Ash and then Mariah.

"I hope you don't mind, but I happened to overhear you two talking earlier, and I think I have something that could help you beat Surge, Ash."

"Really? What is it?" He asked excitedly.

Nurse Joy held up a finger to ask for patience and left the room to retrieve something. She came back with a box and lifted the lid, revealing an evolution stone. The thunder stone was a blue-green color and had what appeared to be a stagnant lightning bolt in the center. It was pretty, but looking at it made Mariah's stomach twist.

What if Ash and Pikachu decide to use it? I mean, I wouldn't mind if Pikachu evolved. It'd be weird at first, but I'd get used to it. It's just that him not evolving was such a big thing in the anime. If something that significant changes, what else will change?

While the others were distracted by the thunder stone, Mariah slipped out of the room and left the pokémon center. She walked for a while, seeing the city, but she wasn't in a state of mind to really take it in and enjoy it. Her walk ended at the ocean. She kicked off her shoes and let the surf wash over her feet, squeezing the sand with her toes. Even in winter, barring the mountains, Kanto had a mild climate, so the temperature wasn't too cold. There were several other people and pokémon enjoying the beach, like the girl throwing a frisbee to a growlithe or the elderly couple watching a toddler and a psyduck build a sandcastle. The water sparkled beautifully like a pokémon using morning sun, and the breeze was refreshing and salty. Mariah forced herself to take it all in, to let the familiar and beautiful environment work its magic so that her heart would stop racing, her hands would stop shaking, and her mind would work properly instead of trying to shut down. In her old world, she was born and had spent the first half of her childhood by the ocean. There hadn't been any pokémon there of course, but it was similar enough to relax her so that she could get a grip on herself. Nearly normal again, she moved away from the water and released her team.

They all appeared in flashes of light. Bolt trilled excitedly when he saw the ocean. He grabbed Courage in his talons and zipped off, dropping the panicking magikarp into the waves. Mariah didn't even scold the pesky bird. For one, she knew that Bolt was trying to be kind by carrying Courage so that he wouldn't have to hop to the water, and for another, she was too busy laughing.

"Did you see Courage's face? Ha ha ha!"

Mariah was bent in half from laughing so hard. Sol and Nini laughed with her. Athena was amused too, but the butterfree had more important matters to attend to and busied herself with emptying Mariah's backpack in a quest to find the poffin case. The butterfree pulled out over half the items in her bag before finding the case, though thankfully, she had the good sense not to toss her trainer's belongings in the sand and held them aloft using confusion. Athena politely moved everything back into the bag and handed the poffin case to her expectantly. Mariah rolled her eyes and pulled two out, one for Athena and one for Nini.

"You're lucky, you're so cute, Athena. Would you take some pokéblock to Courage and Bolt, please?"

"Free free!"

Mariah exchanged the poffin case for the pokéblock case and shook enough out for the other three. Athena took Courage's and Bolt's treats using confusion and flew off to deliver them, crumbs falling behind her as she nibbled on her poffin.

While Nini and Sol growled happily over their snacks, Mariah went through her bag and made sure it was organized the way she preferred. It was more stuff than the little bag should logically be able to hold. She had always wondered how Anime Brock had enough room in his bag to store the big pots and pans that he had used to cook on the show. Apparently, Silph Co. and other big companies that specialized in pokémon-related technology, like the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, had discovered a method to enlarge small pockets of space inside items like backpacks. Her bag, for example, was about the size of a closet. The technology made traveling a lot easier than it used to be for trainers in the past.

Mariah finished sorting through her bag and laid down, using it as a pillow. She laid there for a while, periodically checking on Nini and Sol, who were sunbathing next to her, and the others, who were having a blast playing tag. She watched Courage jump high out of the water, just a little too slow to touch Bolt. The magikarp looked happier than she had seen him in a while. Groaning, Mariah flopped onto her back and closed her eyes. Nini was asleep, snoring lightly, so she addressed Sol. The charmeleon's eyes were closed, but the size of her tail flame indicated that she was awake.

"There's too much to worry about, Sol. I haven't been giving Courage enough swim time, Misty's been acting weird around me, the gym leaders are getting harder to beat, we haven't been in a contest since Viridian, which was months ago, and don't even get me started on Team Rocket. I shouldn't have to worry about stopping evil organizations from taking over the world! There's probably, like, a million other people that are more qualified to do that than I am." She ranted.

Sol yawned in response, not nearly as concerned as Mariah thought she should be.

"Some partner you are." She huffed.

She turned on her side and watched her other pokémon play while her thoughts drifted. According to her research, Team Rocket had been quiet, other than a few scattered cases of low-level grunts stealing pokémon. The organization's attack on the St. Anne in the near future would be the biggest scheme they'd attempted publicly in several years.

Giovanni probably decided to keep his organization out of the limelight while his scientists worked on Project Mewtwo. He wouldn't have wanted the authorities or his competition to catch wind of it. Mewtwo should be full grown by now or close to it, maybe that's why Team Rocket's becoming active again? I hope he's rescued soon, before he starts hating humans and tries to take over the world. The first pokémon movie was awesome, but I wouldn't want to experience it firsthand. The authorities should extract him from New Island after confirming the authenticity of the information I mailed anonymously to Professor Oak, Champion Lance, and the Kanto Police HQ in Saffron City. I also told them everything I could think of that could help them stop Team Rocket on the St. Anne and more permanently on a larger scale. The only thing I didn't include was information that'd be impossible for someone to know in the present. I couldn't say that I knew the future, otherwise they'd never believe me. I almost omitted the identity of Team Rocket's leader for the same reason, accusing a respected gym leader would make many people dismiss my words, but holding back that information felt like I was protecting that scumbag. I don't know Champion Lance's or the police's opinion of Giovanni, but I've gotten the impression that Professor Oak didn't like him. Hopefully, my mentor will investigate him even if the others don't.

After spending over an hour on the beach, napping, playing, and thinking, Mariah came to a decision and recalled all of her pokémon except Nini. He tilted his head at her questioningly.

There's a lot that's out of my hands, but right now, there is something that I can do.

"You feel up to a gym battle, Nini? I can ask Sol instead if you're not ready."

"Nido!" He growled, pawing the ground excitedly.

"That's the spirit! Let's go kick some mudbray!" She grinned, a fire burning in her gut.

Team Rocket can wait. I've got a thunder badge to win.

. . . . . .

Mariah took her place on the challenger's side of the battlefield. The impressively buff gym leader and his employees hadn't stopped taunting her since her arrival, calling her childish names and telling her repeatedly to leave before her pokémon was toasted by Raichu. Unlike Ash, she wasn't bothered by their provocations. She knew it was just part of this gym's way of testing challengers, and anyway, she'd prove them all wrong soon enough.

Surge released his Raichu, and Mariah did the same with Nini.

"It's showtime, Nini!"

Nini appeared and turned to growl at her. Mariah smiled apologetically and raised her hands in surrender. Apparently, he didn't appreciate the use of his cute name during his first gym battle.

"Sorry, sorry. Won't happen again, Nidorino."

The gym's employees laughed and cooed his name mockingly, much to Nini's embarrassment, but Surge just smirked, observing her pokémon with an intelligent gleam in his eyes that didn't match his muscles-for-brains appearance. He spoke, words tinged with an unfamiliar accent.

"He's in good shape for a baby pokémon, but Raichu's still gonna to send him to the ER like all the othas. He'd have a better chance of winning if ya used a moon stone to evolve him. Like I told ya brotha, if ya want strong pokémon, then ya hafta evolve them as quick as ya can."

"Believe what you want, Lt. Surge. You're a respected gym leader, so your methods must have merit, but I have my own way of raising pokémon."

Surge shrugged and sighed, Raichu copying him.

"I tried to warn ya, baby. Don't be too upset when ya lose. I hate seeing pretty girls cry."

He signaled the referee, who nodded respectfully and moved into position.

"The pokémon battle will now begin. Only one pokémon may be used. The gym leader, Lt. Surge, has chosen Raichu. The challenger, Mariah, has chosen Nidorino. No time limit. Let the battle begin."

Mariah made the first move.

"Use toxic spikes!"

Purple energy gathered into a ball in Nidorino's mouth. The ball shot into the air and exploded into several smaller purple balls which fell toward the ground with purple smoke trailing behind them. If you looked at the balls closely, you'd see little bundles of spikes at the center.

"Use thunderbolt, Raichu! Don't let the spikes touch the ground!"

"Rai!"

"Stop him with ice beam!" Mariah ordered.

Raichu was slow for his species, but he was still faster than Nidorino. The mouse destroyed most of the spikes, but he had to jump to dodge the ice beam and missed a handful. The surviving spikes melded into the ground and turned the battlefield into a weapon. When Raichu landed from his jump, he stiffened as poison seeped into his system.

Mariah grinned. Surge was now on a time limit, and Raichu's maneuverability had been limited. If the mouse lost contact with the ground and reconnected, then more poison would enter his system.

"You just have to outlast him, Nidorino, and we'll have this battle in the bag!"

"Nido!"

Undaunted, Surge's eyes gleamed.

"I wouldn't count on it, baby. Raichu, use mega punch!"

Raichu crossed the field, dragging his tail on the ground behind him so that he wouldn't activate the toxic spikes. His arm glowed as he swung.

"Counter with horn attack!"

The attacks connected, but Nidorino was overpowered and knocked back. Raichu followed him, not giving him time to recover.

"Mega kick!"

Raichu's foot slammed into the side of Nidorino's legs and swept him off his feet. Mariah rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts. She could tell that just those two moves had done a lot of damage to Nini. Surge may not have trained his raichu's speed very well, but he definitely put a lot of effort into training his strength.

"Hit him with thunder, Raichu!"

"Counter with toxic spikes!" Mariah yelled, trying not to panic as she remembered the electrical burns that Raichu's thunder had left on Pikachu.

Ice beam would be a better counter, but there wasn't enough time. It took longer for Nidorino to prepare an ice beam than it did toxic spikes. She made a mental note to herself to work on improving her team's move activation speed, just being a second faster could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

The large purple ball exploded and separated into several smaller balls before connecting with Raichu's thunder. Most of the toxic spikes disintegrated but, surprisingly, a few absorbed a portion of the electricity and gained an electric coating. The crackling purple spikes were repelled back towards Nidorino, along with what was left of the weakened thunder attack. The coordinator in her was excited by the discovery of a new possible combination, but the trainer in her was more worried about the damage it could do to her pokémon and how to defend against it.

"Nidorino, send the spikes back with double kick!"

At her command, Nidorino pivoted and kicked at the crackling spikes with his back legs. His movements were effective but awkward, since he had only learned the move recently and hadn't gotten comfortable using it yet. He jerked from the electricity, but the spikes were successfully countered and hurtled back toward their opponent, who was too slow to dodge. They slammed into Raichu's head, arm, and stomach before falling and melding into the ground, increasing the potency of the previous toxic spikes. Raichu remained on his feet, though he wasn't very steady. He was panting heavily, and his face was tinted purple, a symptom of moderate to severe poisoning. The poison was taking its toll, and the spikes that just hit him should have introduced even more poison to his system. The electric mouse should go down soon, but unfortunately, Nidorino was in even worse shape than his opponent. The thunder had been weakened, but it still caused enough damage to make him collapse briefly. The referee nearly ended the match, but Nini stood with a pained groan before the call was made. Sparks danced over his purple hide, and Mariah was worried that he might be paralyzed, but to her relief, the sparks dissipated.

"Nidorino, can you go on? We can forfeit if it's too much for you." She asked seriously, hand squeezing his pokéball.

Nidorino's large ears flicked back toward her as he growled and shook his head, never looking away from Raichu.

"Stubborn." She murmured affectionately.

"What's it gonna be, baby? Youse two ready to quit and run home to ya mommy?" Surge taunted.

"No way, Lt. Surge. We worked our mudbrays off training for this battle, and we're not leaving until we get the thunder badge. Nidorino, use water pulse!"

"Nido!"

Nidorino shot one of the biggest, strongest water pulses that she had ever seen him make. It would've been totally awesome if it landed and won them the match, but Surge wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Use dig!"

"Dig?" Mariah parroted in surprise.

Surge hadn't used that move in his battle with Ash.

Raichu disappeared underground, dodging the attack. Mariah trailed her eyes over the battlefield, looking for any disturbances in the dirt that might give away the mouse's location.

They could hear the faint sound of him moving underground. Mariah's ears weren't nearly good enough to pinpoint his location, but she could guess his destination. Nidorino had excellent hearing, thanks to his rabbit-like ears, but his current state wouldn't allow him to move well enough to dodge the incoming attack. There was only one option, if they didn't want to lose in the next few seconds, but she was very reluctant to use it. She'd rather forfeit, but she knew Nini would be very upset with her if she did. Purple ears twitching as he listened to his opponent's movements, he turned to glare at her.

"Nido ni." He growled.

Mariah acquiesced to his demand, wincing as she gave the order.

"Use endure."

Nidorino lowered his ears and shuddered, a fearful movement that cut into her like a knife, but he didn't hesitate to obey. White energy could be seen outlining his body as he braced himself. Raichu appeared under his feet and hit Nidorino hard enough to launch him skyward. He hit the ground with a thump, but endure saved him from fainting from the super effective attack.

Mariah hated asking him to use that move. She had learned during one of her first training sessions with Nini that using endure triggered memories of his trauma and gave him nightmares for days afterward. He wouldn't tell her much about it, but she assumed that he had learned the move because of the abuse from his old trainer. He would use it if she asked him, but knowing how it affected him made her very reluctant to give the order. When he'd noticed her refusal to use endure, he had frozen her out. He'd barely talked to her and wouldn't let her touch him anymore. He'd refused to be, in his words, treated like a fragile pokémon egg. In the end, they came to a compromise. She refused to use endure in training, even if it upset him, but she did promise that she would use it in important battles if it was necessary.

Surge nodded his approval as Nidorino stood shakily and pointed his horn at Raichu.

"Tough guy, eh? Raichu, thunderbolt!"

Cheeks sparking, Raichu climbed out of the hole he'd made. He seemed to struggle to move, the poison working its magic. It gave Mariah and Nini precious extra seconds.

"Ice beam!" Mariah yelled.

"Counter with thunderbolt!"

The ice beam nearly landed before Raichu was ready, but the move wasn't quite fast enough. Cold blue energy clashed with crackling yellow energy. The two attacks fought for dominance as both pokémon gave it their all, but it was clear that the thunderbolt was stronger. Yellow slowly overtook blue, moving closer and closer to Nidorino. The poison type pokémon poured everything he had into his attack, but it wasn't enough. The electricity was nearly close enough to touch his purple snout, when suddenly the momentum reversed. Raichu fell to one knee, too weak to stand let alone maintain a full-powered thunderbolt. Blue overtook yellow. The ice beam slammed into their exhausted opponent and knocked him out, ice forming in small patches on the defeated mouse's fur.

"Raichu is unable to battle. The match goes to Mariah and Nidorino." The referee declared, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.

"Yes! We did it, Nini!"

"Nido!"

Nidorino shocked Mariah by knocking her to the ground and licking her cheek. She laughed and rubbed his large ears.

"How are you so energetic after that battle?! I'd have passed out by now!" She exclaimed.

He moved off her, giving her room to stand.

"Ni nido ni. Nido ni ni." He taunted her.

"Rude! You know I workout everyday. It's not my fault humans don't improve as fast as pokémon." She argued, amused by his trubbish talk.

"I guess I'm just not as tough as my cute Nini." She cooed, booping his nose.

He stepped on her foot in retaliation. Mariah squealed in pain and moved away from him to examine her poor toes.

"For Arceus's sake, can't you take a joke? That hurt!" She complained, trying not to laugh as she limped around for dramatic effect.

He ignored her and watched Lt. Surge approach. The man seemed intent on pulling her into a hug, but she dodged him and moved so that Nini was between them. She had learned that Surge was a very physical man during her first visit to the gym with Ash and the others; Ash and Brock had gotten bruising slaps on the back and poor Misty had gotten the biggest ursaring hug of her life. By the grace of Arceus, Mariah had escaped his affections then, and she had no plans to experience it now.

Surge pouted and absurdly Mariah felt a kernel of guilt.

"I prefer a softer touch." She explained.

Surge grinned.

"I got a younga sista that's the same way. . ." Surge trailed off suggestively.

Mariah's mouth gaped. She hadn't expected the man to understand the hidden meaning in her words or to immediately try to set her up with a family member.

I wonder if his sister looks like him?

She pictured Surge in a dress and shuddered. Not wanting to offend the man, she hurried to make an excuse.

"I'm sure your sister's great, but I'm, uh, real busy traveling and training my pokémon right now."

Surge shrugged.

"Too bad. Sheila likes pretty blondes, and she's been looking for someone to spoil in between gigs. She's one of Kanto's top models." He bragged proudly.

Regret tasted like bitter ashes on her tongue.

Surge reached across Nini and held his hand out. A small sun-shaped badge rested on his massive palm.

"Here. It's the thunder badge. Youse two have earned it."

Mariah took the badge and, for the first time, bought a video copy of her gym battle. It was a little expensive, and she had to sign some legal documents stating that she wouldn't release it publicly or sell it, but she knew Ash and the others would want to watch it. Plus, she could use it as study material to see where she needed to improve.

The League required all official gym battles to be recorded, and after the current tournament year was concluded, the videos could be bought by the general public. Many television networks would compete to buy rights to the most entertaining battles and air them on their channels. The money that the League earned from selling the videos was one of the sources of revenue that allowed trainers to get free health care and board at pokémon centers. Technically, trainers could ask for their gym battles to remain private, but then, they'd have to pay the medical and boarding fees themselves. The expense would be enormous, and they'd have to battle publicly at the tournament anyway, so very few trainers made the request.

After returning to the pokémon center, Mariah dropped Nini off with Nurse Joy and went to Pikachu's room. She entered trepidatiously and looked right at the patient when she entered. She exhaled shakily, relieved to see a pikachu and not a raichu standing on the hospital bed, awake, and looking better than before she left. Some of his badges had been removed, proof that he was healing even though he'd only been there for a day. His progress was astounding to her, a miracle.

"Pi pika pi!"

Pikachu was equally happy to see her and, in his excitement, tried to jump into her arms. Mariah rushed forward and grabbed him before he hurt himself. She gave him a careful hug and nuzzled her face against his, loving the tingly sensation she felt from touching his red cheeks. She sat him back on his bed and gently reprimanded him.

"I'm happy to see you too, Pikachu, but please be careful. You're still healing."

Pikachu used his right hand to rub his head sheepishly and nodded, acting just like Ash did when she lectured him. She chuckled at the thought.

Pokémon really do act like their trainers over time.

Brock, always a caretaker, tapped her shoulder with a bottle of juice and handed it to her once he had her attention.

"So where have you been, Mariah? You've been gone for hours. We were getting worried." The older boy said.

Mariah replied nonchalantly.

"Didn't do anything too interesting. Did a little sightseeing. Spent some time on the beach."

Misty put her hands on her hips.

"Mariah Ketchum, you shouldn't be so irresponsible and take off whenever you feel like it! While you ran off to play around, Ash and Pikachu nearly decided to use Nurse Joy's thunderstone! You could've missed Pikachu evolving. . ."

The redhead continued to rant, but Mariah didn't pay her any mind and casually pulled her badge case from her bag. She flipped the case open and grinned as all their mouths gaped like floundering magikarp.

"Oh yeah. I picked up a new badge too while I was out." She said smugly.

Once they got over their shock, they started hounding her about challenging the gym alone, upset that they missed the match just like she knew they would be. Ash in particular seemed ready to use the move eruption. Before her brother's head exploded, she grabbed the disc containing her gym battle from her bag and handed it to Brock. The former gym leader knew exactly what it was and led Ash and Misty to the nearest private video booth to watch it. Mariah trailed behind the stampede, holding Pikachu. The little guy shouldn't be leaving his room yet, and Nurse Joy would tear her a new one if she found out, but Mariah knew he'd want to watch her battle too.

"Watch closely, okay? It might help you in your rematch." Mariah coached him.

Pikachu nodded seriously.

"Pi pi pika. Pika pi pikachu!" He said, waving his little fist.

Mariah grinned.

"That's the spirit! You'll beat Raichu next time, I'm sure of it. You'll hit him so hard, he'll be seeing stars."

"Pikachu!" He cheered in agreement.

A few days later, after Pikachu was healed and completed the special training Ash had devised with some advice from her, Brock, and Misty, Mariah's prediction proved correct. Similar to the anime, her brother and his partner won after Pikachu dodged Raichu's thunder by embedding his tail in the dirt and using it as a ground, though this time he did it more effectively using iron tail. Raichu was exhausted and had used the last of his electricity in that attack, leaving him open to Pikachu's counterattack. After receiving a quick attack and an iron tail, Raichu went down. Pikachu and Ash proudly accepted a thunder badge from Surge and were closer than ever thanks to their victory.

On their last night in Vermilion City, Ash flopped on his bed in the room they had rented at the pokémon center.

"Aw man, I really wanted to enjoy the beach and surf before we left. I was too busy training and taking care of PIkachu to go." He whined.

"Me too. I wanted to see beautiful women in bikinis. . ." Brock sighed.

The older boy had spent all his time helping Ash, studying pokémon breeding and other useful topics at the local library, and flirting with Nurse Joy.

Misty and Mariah peeked down at the boys. The girls had claimed the tops of the two bunk beds in their room.

"Let's spend the morning at the beach instead of leaving first thing." Misty suggested, always willing to spend more time by the water.

The boys immediately agreed, and Mariah didn't object. They all got ready for the night, excited to spend a few hours the next day enjoying the sun, sand, and sea. With only the moonlight shining through the window for illumination, Mariah got comfortable in her bed. Sadly, it was too small and awkward a space for her team to sleep outside their pokéballs with her, but once they started traveling again, there'd be plenty of time for cuddles. For now, she shared her pillow with their pokéballs. She had trouble sleeping if they weren't close to her.

Knowing that Nini had a rough night ahead, she cradled his pokéball in her hands with the hope that it gave him some comfort.

"I'm sorry, Nini. I'll do better next time." She whispered quietly.

His pokéball wiggled making Mariah smile.

One day, they'd be strong enough to never have to use endure again. One day, they'd overcome Nini's demons. One day.

TO BE CONTINUED