The silence stretched on, no one knowing what to say next.
Brock spoke about how he washed ashore near Hutber Port and how he took a job as a Chef aboard a cruise liner – to which he noted how ironic that sounded. He described how he had started doing some research, eventually connecting with a woman from Kanto who helped him connect the pieces.
Misty had explained how she was found on a raft half-way to Sinnoh and how she had become a Pokemon Ranger; her job leading her to Kanto. She skirted over some of the details, but mentioned how she had ran into Melody in Vermillion, and how they found Pikachu and Meowth in the Tower of Terror in Lavender Town.
Melody smiled awkwardly, noticing how Professor Oak glanced in her direction at the mention of her name. For the hundredth time since meeting up with Misty – or Willow as she called herself then – she wondered why she got herself involved in all this.
Her subconscious tended to answer that question for her – You'd be bored without them, moving from place to place to avoid Karol coming to find you.
When Misty fell silent, the red-head glancing down at the floor, no one seemed to know what to say next. It was a lot to adjust your mind to. Melody fidgeted on the armrest of the couch, the silence awkward in her opinion as she glanced at the others in the room.
Why did they have this habit of falling silent often?
"More than just Brock and Misty are alive," Melody said quietly, breaking the silence, glancing at occupants in the room, her gaze stopping on Professor Oak. "One of the trainers, Jessie Smith, is out there – although she calls herself Jessilina now," she shook her head. "She appeared in Shamouti Islands, that's in the Orange Islands, one day. No memories, no past, no nothing, she was like a blank slate. Jessie and Jessilina have a striking resemblance to each other. I actually got in contact with her . . . she agreed to come and meet me in Cinnabar in three days time." Melody paused, letting the information sink in.
"They're one in-the-same," Misty interjected, shaking her head. "I haven't seen her, but from Melody's description . . . it's her."
"We think that the others – James and Ash – might be alive as well, somewhere," Melody said, easing into the request on her mind. "With the exception of Brock; their memories were forgotten, it's possible they're out there as well, their memories simply lost. Brock and Misty are planning to come with me to Cinnabar, and Mrs. Ketchum is allowing us to borrow Krabby – or, I guess, it's a Kingler now?"
Misty narrowed her eyes, glaring up at Melody – hadn't they agreed to wait to ease into the topic of the possibility that Ash could be alive? She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall; obviously Melody thought twenty minutes and the first stretch of silence was long enough. Brock shook his head, his features not giving anything away. Pikachu cocked its head to one side, quietly mumbling a "Pika?" at the mention of black-haired trainer.
Inwardly, Melody let out a sigh, shaking her head. She could feel their stares, but chose to ignore it; they just didn't know her well enough yet. "It's the truth," she muttered, shaking her head. "No use beating around the bush, honestly."
"She reminds me of someone else," Misty stage-whispered, smiling slightly at Brock. "Someone else who rarely thought before acting . . ."
Brock nodded, shaking his head. "I think you're right in this case."
"I'm not like Jessilina," Melody said, narrowing her eyes at the two.
Misty grinned, shrugging. "I wasn't talking about Jessie, but that works too."
"Professor Oak," Brock interrupted, casting a glance at both Misty and Melody. "While we don't know where Ash might be right now, we think that eventually he might make an appearance somewhere; the rest of us managed to . . ."
Professor Oak nodded; his expression thoughtful. "I never thought . . ." he shook his head. "Krabby would no doubt like to see something other than your backyard – are you alright with this, Delia?"
Mrs. Ketchum blinked; the attention of the room suddenly on her. Shaking her head to dispel her thoughts, she nodded, glancing from the three trainers on the couch to Professor Oak. "We discussed this on our way here from Pewter City – but please, bring my son home."
Misty smiled in response, stretching her arms out before her. Brock nodded, his backpack at his feet while Melody scratched Meowth's head absently, biting back the words If their luck held out.
"We'd prefer if you kept this to yourself," Misty said, rising from the couch, shouldering her backpack. "I want to break the news to my sisters myself."
"I'm still surprised no one in Cerulean recognized you . . . everyone here did," Melody mused out loud, frowning slightly. "You don't look all that different from the photo in Bill's lighthouse . . ."
Misty shot her a glare. "That's beside the point," she shrugged. "If everyone in Kanto learns Jessie and myself survived, everyone will be on the lookout for Ash and James – just imagine having a television camera shoved in your face when you don't know you're missing. Besides, the Indigo League is supposed to be starting soon, right Professor? Everyone's going to be focused on that, we can slip under the radar for now."
Melody shrugged, picking up her bag. "Whatever you say, Misty; come on Meowth we're hitting the waves –"
"I hate water, especially wet water," Meowth replied, frowning.
"Well, you don't have a Pokeball and since you're already someone's Pokemon, I can't capture you."
"Wait a second," Misty interjected, raising an eyebrow. "Who did you belong to anyway, Meowth?"
" . . ." Meowth grumbled inwardly, his mind searching for a quick response.
He couldn't come right out and say that he had been Giovanni's Pokemon; no one was supposed to know until the right moment who was Team Rocket's Leader. Then, he was replaced with that Persian and hadn't Giovanni crushed Meowth's Pokeball under his foot in annoyance?
Did he even have a Trainer anymore?
It had been well-known that Jessie and James were on the verge of being thrown out of Team Rocket when Meowth's Pokeball had been crushed; his connection with Giovanni destroyed. Idly, he thought of how this actually worked in Giovanni's favor – instead of planning how to get rid of the two, their final mission had been their defeat.
Idly, Meowth wondered what the two had thought of him; they were all the outcasts, even though Jessie and James didn't know that.
However, Meowth found himself spared from answering as another voice echoed through the lab, a door closing behind them.
"Grandpa – you here?"
Brock paused, Melody raised an eyebrow, and Misty shook her head, dropping her head into her palm. "Just our luck," she muttered darkly.
Delia glanced in the direction the voice had come from, now accompanied by footsteps on the staircase. "I see Gary came back from Johto sooner than expected."
# # #
Sitting on the benches to the side of the Gym, May shook her head. This wasn't what she had imagined the Dewford Gym would look like. The path leading to the Brawly's chamber was shrouded in darkness, the lights overhead casting a pool of light here and there.
However, once inside the Gym Leader's chamber, the lights were on; causing them to bring their hands up to shade their eyes. Blinking, May glanced around the square room quickly, Brawly calling back his Pokemon before she could get a good enough look.
"Welcome trainers," he said with a flourish, turning around to glance at them all in turn. "Which one of you wants to challenge me for the Knuckle Badge first?" he continued, glancing from Cole to May.
Max shook his head at the mannerism's of Brawly, this guy didn't strike him as a Gym Leader . . .
"I am!" Cole said, taking a step forward, pulling out Aipom's pokeball. "I challenge you to a battle."
Brawly nodded, grinning at the enthusiasm. "Challenge accepted. I usually don't have two trainers here simultaneously," he added, after a pause, glancing at May. "Count yourself lucky, honey."
May blinked, surprise etched on her face as she sat down on the benches placed around the arena. "Wait . . . what?" she mumbled, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not a . . ."
Beside her, Max let out a snort, calling Brawly up on his PokeNav. "Guess he saw you staring at him on the beach yesterday."
"Shut up Max!" she hissed, glaring at him. "I was not!"
"Denial's the first step," he shrugged, moving out of the way as May tried to smack his arm.
"Boys," May grumbled with a shake of her head, leaning back on the bench. "Go get him, Cole!"
Despite her disinterest in the idea of Pokemon Battles, May found herself intrigued watching the battle before her. She had first noticed it when she watched Cole battle Roxanne in Rustboro City, Cole changed when he was battling . . . he seemed to be focused on the task at hand, taking his Pokemon's health into account as the battle progressed longer than anticipated.
It's like he's a different person, she thought idly to herself.
She paused as the thought flittered across her mind; her conversation with Ericka the day before coming back to her.
"He doesn't talk about it much, but there's something hidden inside him, even though he doesn't realize it. Every once and a while he would just stare off into space, as if vaguely remembering something . . ."
May frowned, Ericka's words coming back to her. Then, a slight smile appeared on her lips as she shook her head. Maybe it wasn't the heat of the battle that was changing the way Cole approached the situation . . . maybe his true self was bubbling to the surface once again.
Narrowing her eyes, May watched as Cole glanced at the arena stretching out between him and Brawly. The blue-haired leader was watching the battle unfold, his hands shoved in his pockets, obviously at ease, his Makuhita hardly looking out of breath.
Across the arena, Aipom was obviously running low on energy, as it no longer was using its tail to bounce away from Makuhita's Vital Throw's with the same grace. May bit down on her lip, the worn Pokemon wouldn't be in the match much longer; Aipom had taken too much damage from Machop . . .
"It's over," Brawly's voice boomed across the room. "Makuhita – Vital Throw!"
"Aipom – use your tail and then Baton Pass!"
May watched as Aipom's tail touched the ground, balancing its weight before stringing away from the oncoming throw. Then, just as fast, before Makuhita could grab the tail, Aipom returned to Cole, who was ready with another Pokeball.
"This battle just got long," May mumbled, shaking her head. The only other Pokemon Cole had was Makuhita.
"Just you watch," Max said, casting a short glance at May. "Cole has a trick up his sleeve."
"I see . . ." May shrugged. If this fight was going to become Makuhita vs. Makuhita; they were going to be here all day. If only she'd brought her notepad, she could have jotted down Cole's differences when battling.
"Wing Attack and follow up with Peck!"
May raised an eyebrow – what did Cole just yell?
From the light emanating from the Pokeball as it opened, May watched as a winged creature – moments later, discovering it was a Wingull – shot up into the sky before arcing back, its sights set on Makuhita.
"Makuhita – dodge it!"
However, before the fighting Pokemon could dodge out of the way, Wingull arced down toward it, connecting solidly with it; the two creatures hitting the arena floor underfoot.
"When did he catch a Wingull?"
Max grinned, casting a glance over at May. "While you were busy at the beach, we went and battled around the Granite Cave."
May rolled her eyes at the tone of Max's voice, her younger brother trying to one up her again. "I wonder how Wingull fared . . ." May trailed off, glancing back at the arena, dust having risen to the air from the impact. "It's so small in comparison," she added, straining forward.
"And . . . the winner is . . ." came the voice of the referee. " . . . Cole Thompson of Celadon City!"
Cole blinked as he heard his name, shaking his head moments later as he pumped his fist into the air. "We did it – we won the Knuckle Badge!"
May grinned at his enthusiasm. "Congratulations Cole," Brawly said, calling Makuhita back to its pokeball. "The Knuckle Badge is yours."
Pushing herself off from the bench, May crossed the stadium, a grin on her features as well. "Way to go, Cole!" she called as she got closer. "I knew you could do it."
"Let's see your badge," Max added, a few feet away.
"The next Gym is located in Slateport City," Brawly broke in, interrupting the three. "Now, about the next challenger –"
"No way, not me," May cut in, shaking her head as she waved her hands in front of her, as if to wave the thought away. "I'm not interested in Gym Battles –"
"Are you serious?" Cole said, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you even here?"
"You owe me a bike," she narrowed her eyes at him. "I just want –"
"You should check out the Contest Hall in Slateport City," Brawly said, glancing May over. "It opened a few weeks ago," Brawly continued, seeing the confused look on their faces. "I'm sure you've heard of the Contests of the Sinnoh Region; they decided to try it out in Hoenn," Brawly shrugged. "It might be more up your alley."
"They're bringing Contest's here?" May said, eyes widening slightly. "Mom and I always watch that . . . she actually met and hung out with Johanna Diamond years ago at the Grand Festival."
Max wrinkled up his nose. "You don't actually expect us to sit through those do you?"
"Come on Cole, we got to get going to Slateport City!" May chirped, ignoring Max.
"It can't be that bad, Max . . ." Cole said, glancing from Max to May, who now had his hand in hers, tugging him forward impatiently.
"You'll see when we get there then," Max shrugged, giving up.
Behind them, Brawly shook his head, the three having momentarily forgotten him as they argued the differences between Gym Battles and Contests. "Kids . . ."
# # #
Jessilina sighed in relief as she saw the end of the cave ahead of her, her pace picking up slightly. The next time she saw a cave would be too soon – especially one crawling with Diglett that popped out of the ground unexpectedly, constantly tripping her.
She was pretty sure they had it out for her. As much as she would have liked to capture one, the Pokemon annoyed her to much that she was pretty sure it would never get the proper training.
"Come on out Lickitung," Jessilina called, tossing the Pokeball into the air.
Lickitung appeared moments later, its tongue hanging out as it called out its' name, the pokeball returning to Jessilina. "Licky, Lickitung!"
Jessilina smiled, the pink Pokemon's appearance growing on her as she patted it on its head. "It's good to see you too," she smiled, dropping her backpack off her shoulders. "Now, just give me a second so I can find our map . . ."
Shuffling the things around in her backpack – empty pokeballs, papers covered in information she'd printed off back in Shamouti Islands – mumbling an "Aha!" as she found the folded paper.
"Alright, so Diglett's Cave is here . . . wow, we walked quite a distance. Pewter City's to the north," Jessilina paused, taking in her surroundings, noticing the Pewter City sign a ways away. "That means that Cinnabar is this way . . ."
Jessilina whirled around, glancing to the south. "We can either go through the Viridian Forest, or take Route 12 and by pass everything . . ."
"Licky!"
". . . and I still need a Water Pokemon . . ." Jessilina grumbled, letting out a sigh. "Come on, I guess we'll take Route 12 and see about getting a Fishing Rod in Viridian."
Nodding at her decision, Jessilina started out, folding up the map as she went. Stowing the map in her back pocket, Jessilina stretched her arms out in front of her, taking in her surroundings.
Diglett's Cave was behind her, tree's lining either side of the path, small rock ledges jutting out into her walking path at random intervals. She shook her head at them as she scooted past them, the ledges having a forgotten look to them. It seemed that once someone had tried to make them beautiful by planting some flowers that had unfortunately wilted, in them.
"You there!"
Jessilina jumped, lost in her thoughts. Lickitung, sensing its trainers' surprise, whirled around, its black eyes narrowed, looking for the threat.
"No one ever comes this way," the voice continued, a person appearing from behind one of the hedges, a watering can in hand. "All you young trainers prefer the Viridian Forest as you try to catch everything that moves. No one seems to appreciate the beauty of slowing down and taking in the scenery for a moment – no one except you. For that reason, I want you to have this as a token on my appreciation."
Jessilina blinked as the person, in her opinion elderly, made their way over to where she stood, pressing an item into her hands. Blinking, Jessilina stared down at her, raising an eyebrow at the golden-tinged thing she was holding. "What is this?"
"It's called a Nugget," the person explained. "They're very rare in today's world, however they don't have much use to you Pokemon trainers – wait, wait!" They added hastily, seeing Jessilina's expression drop. "They sell for a fortune at Pokemon Marts; take it as gratitude for taking the scenic route instead of the well-travelled path."
"I see . . ." Jessilina said. It seemed weird to just be given an item for no apparent reason. "So . . . would it be enough to buy me a Fishing Rod?"
"It can buy the Super Rod and then some," the person said, grinning. "Good day and good luck trainer." And with that said, the person picked up their watering can, turning back to their almost-dead flowers.
"Okay . . ." Jessilina trailed off, shaking her head slightly, before glancing over at Lickitung. "Come on then, we got to hurry up and get to Viridian – we need that Rod!"
Grinning wildly, Jessilina picked up her pace, effortlessly vaulting over one of the ledges, her spirits high once again. Finally, something was going right – if only her luck would keep up.
She had noticed on her map that there was a small pond in the middle of Viridian; maybe she'd be able to catch a Goldeen . . . a Staryu . . . something of value.
As she past through the small rest stop located just outside of Viridian, Jessilina found her thoughts drifting back to James and the last time she was in Viridian. That thought made her pause slightly – hadn't her and James more-or-less blown up the Pokemon Center?
What if someone recognized her?
She didn't need to draw attention to herself . . .
Inwardly, she thanked herself that the Pokemon Center and the Pokemon Mart were too separate building, unlike in the Orange Islands where they put the two places together in order to save space.
Then, her thoughts brought her to a grinding halt as she caught sight of the sign indicating Viridian City was just ahead.
Welcome to Viridian City – home of the Final Kanto Gym.
What if she ran into the Boss here?
She wasn't ready – she didn't ever want – to face Giovanni face-to-face again.
"Lickitung . . . what should I do?"
She couldn't fight back the chills that suddenly came over her, immobilizing her.
"Licky, licky?" the Pokemon replied, tilting its head as it looked back at her. "Lickyy!" It finally thought, heading towards the city.
Jessilina frowned, watching her Pokemon turn away from her, Viridian City mere feet away. "If I get caught . . ."
# # #
The Johto League had gone over better than he originally thought.
He had collected all eight badges with ease, his most difficult battle being Claire in Blackthorn City; the blue-haired leader reminding him of Lance from the Elite Four.
However, unlike Kanto, Johto didn't have any invite-only Gym's like the Battle Frontier.
So, after beating Claire – and realizing he had three months till the Silver Conference – Gary found himself with a lot of extra time on his hands.
He spoke with his Grandfather often, who suggested that he check out the laboratory of Professor Elm in New Bark Town. And, to humor his grandfather, he had gone.
Cutting through Route's 45 and 46, Gary found himself in New Bark Town, somewhere he'd never given much thought too as he had docked in Olivine City. Professor Elm had been surprised to see him, but was in too much of a hurry to pay Gary too much attention.
Before he knew it, Gary had muttered five words he might have regretted: "Do you need any help?" It was a knee-jerk reaction.
Then, he found himself tasked with helping out the Professor.
He had spent some time researching the Ruins of Alph for clues about the Unown – which it was rumored it had connections to the events in Greenfield – and he had run into the Spencer Hale there.
Next, Gary had ventured to Ilex Forest in regards to the forest's shrine, and Ecruteak City to check out the Burned Tower, a fair amount of people claiming they had seen the Legendary Dogs.
Professor Elm was on his way to the Whirl Islands, apparently a baby Lugia and Team Rocket were in the area. Gary had planned to meet up with the Professor on the Islands, but it was cutting it too close to the Silver Conference.
And with that in mind, Gary found himself in Silver Town and at the end of his second match – found himself defeated.
Nidoqueen, Arcanine, and Blastoise . . . he had covered all his bases, and yet –
He found he wasn't upset.
Unlike on the stage in the Indigo League, Gary found he didn't care about winning the same. Inwardly, he shook his head, knowing what had distracted him – Lugia in the Whirl Islands and what might be happening.
Somewhere in the past three months, something had changed within him, and he knew it had everything to do with helping out Professor Elm. It was like something had finally clicked, seeing that there was more to the world than being a Pokemon Master.
"Grandpa would be impressed," Gary said, shaking his head. How long had his parents asked him about following in his grandpa's footsteps? "I haven't been home in over a year . . . might as well head out there now and figure out what I want next."
And with that said, Gary found himself back in Kanto, the town still exactly like he remembered it. The salty smell of Water Route 21 was apparent in the breeze, the town still quiet at this time of the morning. No doubt Professor Oak wouldn't expect guests this early.
"Wait a second, who did you belong to anyway, Meowth?"
Gary blinked as he stood in the hallway, hearing a feminine voice filter down from upstairs. Gary raised an eyebrow – was it a new trainer here for their first Pokemon?
"Grandpa – you here?"
He noticed that the conversation going on upstairs immediately died off. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Gary's hand moved to the pokeball's attached to his belt, had someone actually broken into the lab?
"I didn't expect you home so soon," Professor Oak's voice filtered down, the man appearing as he approached the railing and stairs. "How was the Silver Conference?"
"It was fine," Gary shrugged. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something –"
"So do I," Professor Oak said, glancing over his shoulder. "I should probably go first; I can only imagine the questions you might have."
"Okay . . .?" Gary trailed off, confused by his words as he approached the top of the stairs.
Glancing past his grandpa as he reached the landing at the top, Gary paused, taking in his surroundings. Sitting on the couch was Mrs. Ketchum which wasn't too out of the ordinary, the woman coming around once-and-a-while to look after Ash's remaining Pokemon, but behind her . . .
He noticed Brock Slate, the Gym Leader of Pewter City; inwardly, Gary noted that his Squirtle made quick work of his Rock Types. Beside him on the couch was a red-haired girl, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, a wary look on her face. The memory was distant, but he was sure that was the girl who was always following Ash around.
It was then he noticed a Pikachu on her shoulder, at ease as it perched there. His mind brought forth the useless fact that Pikachu could only be found (if lucky) in the Viridian Forest. He noticed another girl, her brown hair pulled back into pigtails, a Meowth at her feet, but he paid her little attention – his attention drawn back to the first two people.
"It's been a while, Gary . . ." Misty broke the silence, smiling slightly. "I bet you never expected to see us again."
"It can't be," Gary shook his head, the pieces falling together. He glanced at Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak, the unspoken truth written on their faces as he glanced back at the new arrivals. "How are you . . . here?"
The reports all said Ash and his friends had past away in the sinking.
And yet . . . they were sitting across from him on the couch.
"Apparently I missed a lot while in Johto . . ." Gary finally settled on saying. "So, where's Ash then?"
The black-haired trainer still owed him a match.
# # #
A/N –
What a better way to spice things up then adding Gary to the mix?
Also, I realized I need to incorporate Dawn and James into this story a bit more. I missed a lot of the anime when Ash was in Sinnoh (wasn't a fan of the Region) and as such, I tend to forget about them often. So, since May is interested in Contests, the quickest way to add it all together was to have May and Dawn's mom know each other. It'll fit later on, as for the most part, I have May's journey already planned out.