Hello everyone, thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting on this story. I feel warm inside like a charmander's warm tail is burning in my soul (or something). This chapter is going to be longer than my others, just to let you know.

Anyway please enjoy,

POV (Misty)

The week passed in a blur and suddenly the first day of assessment arrived. It was over the course of four days. For three days a different judge would come and view the gym. The first was to check the facilities, the second her Pokemon, and the third would see how she was able to work with her Pokemon. She was happy her Krabby evolved the other day, it was still extremely affectionate, but now it was also extremely powerful. Ash of course made a point of mentioning he got a Kingler first and she made a point of shoving him in the pool.

Misty considered herself a confident person, but she knew it was unlikely she would actually attain the rank of a four star gym. Not because of a lack of talent, but purely based on experience. It looked like she was patiently waiting at the door, but she was practically jumping out of her shoes until an older gentleman walked in and introduced himself, "Hello, you are Miss Waterflower Correct?"

"Yes, I'm Misty Waterflower the other three Miss Waterflowers are busy doing nothing related to the gym," she joked slightly and shook his hand firmly. He wore an expensive looking suit and a hat, but Misty assumed his hair was white the same color as his large, but groomed mustache.

Luckily the man smiled lightly," Alright please show me the facilities," the man stretched his arm out indicating that Misty should lead him. She spent a while showing him the areas and explaining what everything was. He seemed particularly impressed by the indoor lake and the outdoor area it connected to. He spent a good portion of the time checking the salt levels and temperature in the various pools, the size, the materials used, and everything else Misty had been painstakingly checking for herself over the past few weeks.

"Now please open the Gym and we will see if you receive any challengers," he walked back to the main lobby and sat down, the picture of calm, looking through the papers he brought with him and began filling forms out. Misty thought things were going alright, but she couldn't read him and nobody had come yet to take her on.

She also was very aware of her shadow, Ash. He had been tailing them the entire time the inspector had been in the Gym. It simultaneously relaxed her and made her more anxious, she wasn't sure which was more prevalent.

Over the course of his visit a few trainers came, but they were all inexperienced and really didn't say anything about her fighting skills when she won. The day came to an end and all he asked for was print outs of the data compiled each time a trainer swiped their Id and the print outs of her bills. She knew the league had access to anything she did, but she could tell they wanted to see how on top of things she was.

She led him into her small, but neat office and gave him everything he asked for. He left with a small thank you and promised the next assessor would arrive in the morning. Once again Misty believed things went well, but unfortunately having things go well wasn't enough

The next morning a Nurse Joy arrived and she focused more on Misty's Pokemon and their health, which Misty always made sure was impeccable. She also looked over the living conditions of the Pokemon and checked her files for food orders, cleaning services, and any other things that could apply to how she took care of her Pokemon.

The inspection ended with Misty showing her the incubation room for the Pokemon eggs. There weren't many eggs and most of them were Goldeen and Horsea eggs, but Dewgong had an egg, as well as an egg laid by Luverin. The incubation room had a pool in the center connected to the main pool so the Pokemon could visit their eggs, but the eggs themselves were kept in special cases which lined the walls.

Like the other inspector she also watched any challengers, luckily this time Misty faced a few trainers who were actually worth watching. Before she left she gave Misty a medical exam to make sure she was in fit shape. Once again Ash tailed them and once again the assessor left without any indication of what she thought.

The final assessor was a young man who seemed very intense, his wild black hair was streak with red and he had an array of rings through his ears and lip. She could also see the beginnings of a tattoo peeking out from the area above the collar of his black shirt. His height and lithe muscles didn't help make him seem any more approachable, but Misty was raised not to judge a book by its cover so she tried not to judge him prematurely, the Pokemon league trusted him so Misty didn't have a right not to. He didn't talk much and looked over her Pokemon with sharp eyes.

Eventually he asked her to show him some of the skills of her Pokemon. He was checking the strength of her Pokemon as well as how talented she was at using them. She gathered most of her battlers pointedly excluding Psyduck and prepped them for his trials.

He tested her by ordering her to do different tasks or demonstrating her Pokemons' skills. He was looking at how effectively she was able to use them, randomly forcing her to switch between Pokemon. He too watched her battle challengers and he told her he would be back with the other two assessors the next day to make their final decision.

Misty basically collapsed into bed exhausted from the last three days, but she was too nervous to actually sleep. She knew her sisters and Ash could tell how stressed she was so they left her alone and when they spent time with her they were extra accommodating. Her sisters were also aware that this affected them so they stayed out of the way of the assessors so they wouldn't make the Gym look bad and made an effort to keep things in order.

The day finally came and the three assessors finally arrived, Misty led them to her living room to talk.

"We've observed you and your Gym and we would like to discuss both with you before we tell you our decision," Nurse Joy explained.

The first assessor began, "The facilities are in great condition, the Gym is up to all regulations and you haven't gotten into any legal or financial trouble over the year." Misty had made sure the gym wasn't involved in any scandals so she didn't cut any corners and followed the rules to the book.

Nurse Joy spoke next, "Obviously you love your Pokemon and they have all been cared for perfectly, they're both happy and healthy. Which is something I'm glad for, we have come across gyms where the Pokemon are mistreated and as a nurse that's something I find very important." Misty almost couldn't imagine mistreating her Pokemon, aside from Psyduck who occasionally got some tough love, but even then he was always kept healthy.

The third assessor spoke last, "You're Pokemon trust you and from what I've seen you are able to wield them efficiently when given an objective. They seem strong, battle ready, and you have a decent array of Pokemon to use."

The first assessor spoke again, "According to the battle records you've kept which we have confirmed, you have done very well. However one problem exists," Misty felt her heart drop the moment she heard problem.

"Although you have a great record despite a few blotches while your sisters were in charge which we also confirmed, you haven't faced enough difficult trainers, nor do you have the necessary experience. Facing weak trainers and winning just means you are able to handle weak opponents. You are operating on the level of a three star gym, albeit a powerful one. Which means obviously you aren't going to be downgraded, but we can't move you up a rank either," he paused for a moment, but continued in a kinder voice, "You are one of the youngest gym leaders in Kanto and beyond that you are operating with next to no guidance. That alone speaks volumes about you, but you're still a teenager who has only been in charge for a few years. If you were older and had been running the gym for a bit longer, we may have come to a different conclusion."

Nurse Joy cut in, "If you continue to hold a similar record next year we may reconsider because it isn't completely your fault you are only beginning to get powerful challengers, it's because you are considered a three star gym and still have a slight stigma from a few years back hanging over you. Eventually we may give you a four star ranking for six months and watch how you handle it and from there we will make another decision."

The third man, despite his looks, consoled her because it must have been obvious how broken she felt, "Your rise from a gym on the verge of closing down to a three star Gym over two years has been meteoric, but moving to a four star gym takes time. Even doing it in two years is very rare, getting your name out there and becoming a gym that people wait to challenge or want to challenge takes time. You're on the edge, but you didn't have anything to push you over. We take everything into account and it just isn't time yet, you're very talented, but it's too soon. Even if your record had been better we still most likely wouldn't have made you a four star gym purely because you haven't been doing this for long enough. "

Misty sighed, but understood their reasoning and wasn't going to try to fight them.

"You don't need to feel upset about not increasing you rank, it isn't a problem that it will take more time just keep working hard," the older man looked at her.

"To be honest aside from wanting to make this gym the best it can be, I also wanted to be able to enter the Regional Championship this year," Misty explained, but quickly added, "However I do understand and I'm grateful for all of your praise."

Misty got an idea which if the assessors allowed could work, "What if I challenge a very strong trainer in front of you so you can watch and see my full abilities. I know you mentioned that I didn't face enough difficult trainers so I couldn't show the extent of my skill."

"I'm sorry assessment only lasts four days and randomly finding a trainer with high enough capabilities isn't going to be likely," the first man replied apologetically.

"What if I had one outside this door?" Misty smiled despite being upset only moments before.

"I don't follow," Nurse Joy looked at her confused.

"You know Ash Ketchum, right?" Misty asked.

"Let's see he participated in the Indigo League a few years ago, if memory serves me and has competed and done well in a few more regional tournaments since, correct?" The older gentleman asked. The Pokemon League keeps data from every trainer around the world and each region's officials are required to keep up to date on any talented trainers from within their region.

"He's here right now visiting, what if we did a full battle right here, right now so you could watch me? Would that be enough?" Misty asked trying not to sound desperate.

"Can you give us a moment in private please?" the third man asked looking between the other two seated next to him.

"Of course," Misty hoped it would work out stepped out the door to find Ash and her sisters squatting next to the door.

"You want to battle, Misty? Er, I mean what happened in there," Ash was never a particularly good liar and Misty was well aware of that. Her sisters didn't even bother to defend themselves.

"Shut up, I know you were eaves dropping, anyway if they say yes I need you to battle me full out. Don't go easy on me, they'll know and if I lose so be it, but they need to see us fighting our hardest," Misty looked at Ash as seriously as she could.

Ash shrugged, "All right, I've been wanting to fight you anyway."

The entire group waited a few minutes with very little being said and they all jumped when the door opened again. "We've decided we will allow you to fight," Nurse Joy spoke first, "but it doesn't mean we are going to increase your rank whether you win or lose."

"That's fine, we've been looking forward to this anyway," Ash smiled the look that only came before a battle appeared in his eyes.

"Go choose your teams," the intense young man told them.

"Ash, we have a transfer machine in the back you can get any Pokemon you need from Professor Oak I'll go to the pools to get my team," Misty pointed in the direction Ash needed to go in.

Misty stood by the lake looking trying to imagine what team Ash could use and which team she should use. Ash was somewhat unpredictable so she would have to try to cover her bases. Starmie and Staryu were predictable and he'd seen them battle and fought them both in the Gym. Slowbro he hadn't seen her use often so he would have a harder time predicting his moves, but he wasn't as well trained as some of her other Pokemon. In terms of power Gyrados was her strongest fighter, but if he fought Pikachu he was done for. Kingler was a powerhouse, but Ash owned one and would already know his skill-set. Cloyster had strong defense, but couldn't move well, Corsola was pretty adaptable so she was a good choice, but once again had the predictability factor, Tentacool was still somewhat weak, Seaking was strong, but stuck in the water. There was also Seadra, but he faced the same difficulty as Seaking.

She went through the other choices she had and figured out her team. They had all gotten stronger and learned new things Ash hadn't seen, like Starmie's thunderbolt came out of the blue for him. Unless Pikachu chose not to fight again she was sure he would be on Ash's team, other than that he caught a lot of Pokemon she hadn't seen in action and only met when she visited professor Oak's lab.

She walked out the picture of confidence, but in reality she was nervous. She knew a lot was riding on this fight and she was at a disadvantage, Ash had watched her fight all week and she hadn't seen any of his new battlers in action.

"I will be the referee," the intense looking guy said sitting in the referees chair and watching Misty and Ash approach opposite sides of the pool. It was larger than the last time they fought, they were more experienced and the Pokemon they were using were different, but it seemed similar. "It will be a three on three match. You are allowed to recall Pokemon after each fight without penalty, but if you do so in battle they will be taken out."

"I'm not going to go easy on you Misty so you better watch out," Ash yelled looked down at his Pokeballs.

"As if I need you to easy on me, go Politoad," Misty tossed a Pokeball into the air and Politoad landed on the platform looking between Misty and Ash and clapping.

"Who are you cheering for?" Ash asked Politoad who didn't respond beyond his continued clapping. "Well it doesn't matter, Totodile, let's go," Ash yelled out and Totodile appeared. Misty knew Totodile would have the advantage in speed, but she considered Politoad stronger in general.

"Let's make the first move use Aqua tail, let's take him out," Ash pointed and Totodile quickly complied flying across the water kicking up water in its wake.

"Politoad wait until he gets close," Politoad waited until Totodile was closing in, "Now use hypervoice." Misty watched in satisfaction as the sound waves hit, throwing Totodile completely off balance and sending him careening past Politoad without touching.

"Use bite Totodile," Ash commanded once Totodile landed in the water and regained his balance. Totodile spun around and shot towards Politoad unhinging its jaw and showing its sharp teeth.

"Body slam before he can bite down," Misty ordered not wanting Totodile to grab on. Politoad got scratched by Totodiles teeth, but he moved with enough force to send Totodile back into the water

"Alright Totodile stay underwater for a bit and then use Ice Fang," Ash yelled to his Pokemon who disappeared from sight.

"Hold Politoad," Misty watched Ash closely. She knew him well enough to see when he was going to act, what he was going to do he already told her.

"Now, jump up high Politoad," Misty ordered and Politoad used its powerful legs to fly into the air seconds before Ash yelled,

"Use Icefang."

"Hypnosis Politoad from above," Misty screamed and they both watched as Totodile fell down to the ground stumbling back and forth.

"Try to break it, Totodile," Ash sounded worried.

"Use wake up slap, Politoad before he comes to," Politoad complied smacking Totodile with the attack which did double damage. Totodile woke up in the air and managed to flip over and land on a platform taking damage, but remaining standing.

"Totodile use water gun, try keeping some distance," Ash pointed at Politoad who was clapping again.

"Politoad take the hit and then use icebeam," Misty smirked as Politoad absorbed the water attack and healed some of its damage. Which Ash wasn't expecting, but water types were Misty's speciality and she was aware of their abilities.

"Dodge it totodile," Ash yelled and Totodile leapt out of the way avoiding the ice beam. "Use scary face," Totdile glared at Politoad who stumbled for a moment before getting back on its feet. "Now use slash."

"Use bubblebeam, try to slow it down," Misty yelled to Politoad which couldn't hit Totodile after being slowed down by scary face.

Misty watched as Totodile was able to slash Politoad before being forced to jump away from Politoad's bubblebeam. "Alright Politoad use mind reader," Misty knew with Politoad's speed lowered it was going to be difficult to follow Totodile so she wanted to take it out in a single move and with mind reader she couldn't miss.

"Totodile use superpower we have to end this quick," Ash apparently had a similar idea to Misty, but by the time the command was issued Politoad was locked on.

"Alright, time for a hydropump," Misty watched as Politoad's hydropump connected with Totodile who was already flying towards Politoad. The blast connected head on halting Totodile in mid-air before sending it sprawling. "Finish it wish icebeam," and this time icebeam connected freezing the water coating Totodile stopping it in place.

"Totodile return," Ash said a red light coating Totodile before returning to its Pokeball. "Nice job, buddy," he said to the ball before returning it to its place on his belt.

"Totodile is unable to battle Politoad is the winner," the referee waved his flag then asked, "Will you return your Pokemon?"

"Yes I will," and much like Totodile a cheering Politoad was returned to its ball.

"Ash, I study water Pokemon on my off time, you can't beat me like that," Misty yelled to him across the field. Something about the battle bothered Misty a bit, but she shrugged it off.

"Fine then I'll use something that isn't water type," Ash yelled back.

"Let's shake things up," Misty threw a Pokeball into the air and with a gentle 'haah' Starmie appeared.

"Fine Swellow it's your turn," Ash's Pokemon burst out of its ball and flew into the air. Once again a nagging feeling appeared, but this time it was more noticeable.

"Starmie use water gun," Misty watched as Swellow easily flew around the attacks.

"Swellow use gust," It easily slid around the attack and with a few flaps of its wings it stirred up a gust of wind which was sent directly at Starmie.

"Starmie dodge it, get into the water," Misty knew what would happen if Starmie got caught.

The gust just barely missed Starmie and harmlessly kicked up some small waves on the surface of the poo.

Misty waited a few moments before yelling, "Starmie use swift from under the water." A flurry of stars shot out from under the water. .

"Block it with gust," Ash yelled to the bird Pokemon who did as he asked.

The battle continued in a similar battle with most attack being blocked or dodged. Swellow had taken a bit more damage than Starmie due to Starmie slipping in and out of the water. "Swellow use double team and then agility. Start flying in a circle around the pool and use whirlwind to create a whirlpool," Ash commanded and despite the odd request his Pokemon did as he asked and it worked to an extent.

"Starmie use rapid spin with the current and then water gun in all directions," Misty yelled to her Pokemon before it could get taken by the current. Instead it used the speed of the current to enhance its rapid spin. Once it was in the air and level with the multiple Swellows it released water from each point of its star. All of the birds were hit knocking Swellow back and returning it to one, however this left Starmie in the air and completely exposed.

"Swellow use aerial ace," Ash yelled at the same time that Misty said, "Use thunderbolt."

In a scene reminiscent of another fight she was recently in both Pokemon were knocked out when they collided. Misty knew Ash could be clueless, but he generally learned from what he saw in Pokemon battles the fact that he would use a bird Pokemon against her Starmie was something he would have done years ago. Now he shouldn't have made that mistake, which bothered Misty.

Ash had only one Pokemon left and Misty had one Pokemon and her damaged Politoad. Misty was almost positive he would use Pikachu so Gyrados was out of the question with its double disadvantage.

Before she could make her choice Psyduck popped out. In battles against normal trainers they often accidentally set off Psyduck's powers, but Ash already knew not to unlock Psyducks's abilities. Misty was going to have to rely Politoad after all. All it would take was Ash throwing Psyduck off a platform and sending an attack that didn't hit its head.

"Come on out Primeape," Ash threw his third Pokeball out and Primeape stood on the platform nearest to Ash. On the surface it looked like a decent choice, but both Misty and Ash knew about Psyduck's incredible Psychic powers. If they were set off Primeapre would be in serious trouble, but once again Misty figured Ash would be careful in his attacks.

Still Misty was surprised that Primeape showed up she didn't know Ash brought it out of training. "Hi, Primeape," Misty called across the room. In response Primeape raised one hand, but quickly zeroed in on Psyduck.

"Send Psyduck into the wall," Ash said and Primeape ran over full speed and with a single punch sent Psyduck flying across the room headfirst into the wall. Ash didn't seem remotely surprised when Psyduck stood up its eyes glowing blue.

Misty decieded to pretend she wasn't surprised and quickly told Psyduck, "Lift Primeape into the air with confusion and then use psychic to hit him." Now that Psyduck was able to focus he followed Misty's orders and in a few moments Primeape was surrounded in blue light floating in the air struggling to get free. Then the psychic attack struck sending Primape into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Primeape use thunderpunch let's take that Psyduck in one attack," Primapre jumped from platform to platform with ease and Misty was impressed with its speed and agility.

It dodged a few confusion attacks from Psyduck, but once it was about to strike Misty called out, "Use disable." Primeape glowed gray for a second and landed next to Psyduck without connecting. "Psyduck again confusion followed by Psychic," Misty watched at the combo struck again this time sending Primape into the air, hitting the ceiling before crashing into the water.

"Primeape is unable to battle, Misty is the winner," the referee raised his flag again and Misty jumped on the platform to hug Psyduck at the same time Ash returned Primeape.

"Good job Psyduck, you did it," Misty cheered

"Psy?" It cocked its head and Misty returned it before the assessors could see its normal personality.

Misty decided to push away her suspicion about Ash and ask him later, now she needed to talk to the Gym assessors.

"That was a great battle, both of you," Nurse Joy said as Misty walked up to her.

"So has this battle affected your decision?" Misty asked trying not to sound too hopeful.

"We have some talking to do and we need to contact the Pokemon League, but either way our decision will be mailed to you in a week.

"Thank you very much," said her goodbyes and once they were out of sight she ran and hugged Ash followed by a slap.

"Ow, what was that for?" He asked rubbing the side of his face.

"The hug was for the battle and because I think I have a good shot. The slap was because we both know you went easy on me," She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"You noticed," Ash stated rather than asked.

"It was obvious when you sent out Swellow even though you saw Starmie face Fearow. You already knew about Starmie's thunderbolt and you still walked right into it. Plus you punched Psyduck into a wall setting off his Psychic powers, by now you know how Psyduck's powers operate," Misty's expression flickered between thankful and angry.

"Well I fought as hard as I could with Totodile and Swellow until I 'accidentally' got hit by your thunderbolt, but Primeape was really a bad choice," Ash admitted. "It wasn't that I wasn't trying, I just chose the wrong Pokemon on purpose for my second and third choices," Ash shrugged. "So I fought my hardest I just set myself up to fail, but I really did think I had a chance with Totodile," Ash frowned.

"I told you to do your best and you didn't, if they noticed they would have thought I told you to go easy on me. That would have ruined my integrity and made it look like I planned the whole thing. I mean seriously I ask them to let me battle a guy who happens to be in my house and they think he's going easy on me, what does that say about me?

"I'm sorry Misty I thought I was helping," Ash looked at her earnestly.

"That's sweet, but when I tell you to battle me I mean it, I rather lose than win because you weren't trying. If you ever do that again I won't be as nice as I am now," Misty gave him a hard look because it was insulting to know that Ash wouldn't fight her head on.

"If it were any other time I would have beaten you without a thought, so don't worry next time we battle I'll destroy you," Ash smirked.

"Whatever you say," Misty rolled her eyes, "but now I have some time free, the gym can't be active until a decision is made about their status and after the status is made I get two weeks of." Misty stretched her arms above her head finally ready for some time to relax after working so hard.

"Why?" Ash looked confused.

"Well let's say someone faces me when I'm a three star and then a few days later they find out I'm a four star, they'll probably feel cheated," Misty explained, "So I need to take some time off so people don't get too upset."

"That actually makes sense," Ash admitted. "Now that you have some free time do you want to go to Pewter to see Brock?"

"Oh my God, with everything going on I completely forgot to visit him, let me grab some stuff and we'll set off immediately," Misty suddenly got her second wind and was about to run out the door, but Ash interrupted her.

"It's late why don't we sleep," Ash's shoulders slumped.

Misty stifled a yawn, "OK we'll set off immediately after some sleep."

"And breakfast," Ash added.

"And breakfast," Misty amended. She walked up to her room and collapsed into bed. With all of her stress gone Misty fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Pokemon in Gym

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowbro

-Krabby à Kingler

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

Ash's Pokemon on hand

-Pikachu

-Totodile

-Swellow

-Primeape

-?

-?

With Professor Oak

-(I don't have the patience to write them all down right now)

A/N

I hope you enjoyed their battle, let me know what you think about the battle scene, because it was difficult for me to write. I can imagine it in my head, but I don't know how well it translated so let me know.

Question: What do you think about Misty catching Pokemon outside of the Water type?

I don't mean that Misty will suddenly have an all-around team with tons of Electric, Fire, Grass, and Rock types or anything. No matter what Misty is going to be primarily a Water type trainer and I don't plan to alter that.

Trivia

-I modeled the older man off of the gentleman trainer class from the Pokemon games.

-Nurse Joy actually work in the Pokemon Inspection Agency which is an agency which not surprisingly inspects gyms.

-My assessments are somewhat based off of the inspections

-In the anime there were two unofficial gyms the Yas and Kaz gyms which wanted to be official gyms, but because they were constantly fighting and basically destroyed their town, Dark City, the did not become official gyms.

-The agency appeared at Cerulean and the gym was given a passing grade when Misty managed to get Gyrados under her control, which is why it's on her team.

-Misty somehow took direct hits from poison stings from three Tentacruel to protect Gyrados, which was in a cage and couldn't dodge. Somehow it didn't kill her or do much lasting damage (Misty is pretty tough). This led Gyrados to trust her and beat the three Tentacruel.

-Misty crawled into the mouth of a Gyrados when she was a child so she was afraid of them.

-Politoad tends to cheer and clap, not always indicating who or what it's clapping about.

-It evolved while wearing a king's rock when Misty sent it out.

-Ash said it was pretty weird when it first evolved (the evolution not the Pokemon I assume), then called it a friendly little guy.

-Misty thought it was cute.

-Kingler used vicegrip on Psyduck's head in the Whirlcup and lost because of Psyduck's powers.

-Primeapre was originally a Mankey who Ash met on route seven

-Ash was upset that Gary caught thirty Pokemon while he had caught seven at the time

-Mankey was friendly until Ash tried to catch it. Mankey wasn't happy and beat up Ash before stealing his hat and teasing him about it. Team Rocket tried to steal Pikachu and James kicked Mankey out of the way

-Mankey got mad evolved and punched Jessie into a rock before going berserk. Charmander managed to put Primeapre down and Ash caught it.

I'll explain more about Primeape next chapter so that's the end of trivia. Let me know if you have any questions about the story or want me to include something, I can't guarantee I will, but if you ask I'll try to accommodate you. I plan on bringing back some of the Pokemon Ash left behind Primeape being one of them so don't worry about that. Of course Ash and Misty will start catching more Pokemon once they start journeying.

Also please forgive any mistakes, I didn't have much time to edit this so let me know if anything doesn't make sense of if something is off.