Chapter 4: The Protector and the Friend

Misty was awoken by a streak of sunlight that passed through her bangs. She opened one eye and stared at the sun. Her yawn woke up the creature next to her. Alarmed, he had jumped away from the tree and gotten into a territorial stance. When he recognized the drowsy girl, he went back to her and licked her cheek.

Surprised and confused, Misty allowed the Pokémon to continue licking her check. She giggled. "I think that's enough for now." The Arcanine stopped licking her.

She smiled at the Arcanine. He had protected her from…

Misty started to cry. Memories of the previous day returned. Those stupid things had raped her. How was she supposed to marry now? No guy would want her now.

"Arc…" Arcanine whimpered, concerned.

She wiped away her tears. "It's okay. I'm just remembering what happened to me. I can't believe they did…"Misty stopped.

She wanted to explain what happened, but she was embarrassed about telling the Pokémon. She shook her head. What happened yesterday would stay a secret.

The canine Pokémon sniffed her and cringed, causing Misty to sigh. She still smelled bad and she didn't know what would make the smell come off.

As she pondered on what to put on her body, Arcanine trotted away. He returned a few minutes later with a couple of large berries that looked like they would pop at any moment.

"Erm, what do you plan to do with…Ah!" Arcanine squeezed one in his mouth with a little bit sticking out, in order for the liquid to spray on her.

Amazingly, a bunch of the berry's juice got on her. It made her look more like a Croconaw…but the smell was gone! She giggled and hugged the Arcanine.

"Thank you so much! Could you get me some more?" Misty asked the Arcanine.

He barked and took off again. He returned faster than the first time he left. He dropped them in a pile in front of her.

Misty started to take off her clothes, starting with her top. Before she took it off, the Arcanine glanced away. Such a modest Pokémon!

When she got all her clothes off, she wiped the berries onto her skin and hair. She made sure to get it all over her. The only bad thing was that she now smelled like rotten fruit.

"Now that I have it all over me, I should wash it off…"

She turned towards the Arcanine, who was still looking the other way. "Um, could you lead me to the pond near here? I kind of wandered here by accident and I don't know where here is."

He sniffed the air, and walked to the left. She followed him through the forest.

After a few turns they ended up in a pond, but it wasn't the one where Misty had gotten raped. Oddly, it seemed confusing. It was more familiar to her than the one she was at last night. She gasped. Had she gone to the wrong place?

Arcanine barked, still not looking at Misty. She focused again on the situation. She jumped into the pond. She swam to the middle of the pond and went underwater. She stayed like that for a few minutes before coming up for air. Thankfully, the juices from the berries were gone and she smelled alright.

Misty remembered who had gotten her the berries. "Hey, do you want to join me?" she asked the Arcanine.

Even though she was friendly, the canine refused. He was probably still cautious about her being naked.

"Aw. Will you please join me? I'd feel all alone if you don't…" Misty tried to coax him into going in.

He just whined. He wasn't going to change his mind.

Misty sighed. "Will you at least stay there, near the edge? I'm scared of having another bad experience."

When the Arcanine sat down as if guarding her, Misty let the water relax her. She enjoyed water, no matter the temperature.

"Ah…that was refreshing."

Misty walked out of the pond. Next to the edge was her towel and clothes. She trembled. Arcanine had left her alone for a moment.

"Arc!" Arcanine barked, with Misty's shoes on his back.

He dropped them next to her clothes, and then turned away. Misty understood that he didn't want to see her naked, so she dressed quickly.

"Okay, now I'm ready. I guess I have to go back to the gym."

When Misty started walking, Arcanine followed. She stopped, and so did he. She started again, and then turned around quickly. Arcanine bumped into her, almost knocking her over.

"Um…do you want to come with me?" Misty asked.

Arcanine barked excitedly.

She smiled at her new companion. "Well, then we're headed to the Cerulean Gym!

While they walked, Misty thought about what she should call Arcanine. Her first idea was to call him Spot, but that sounded too common. Spike sounded stupid and so did any other dog-related name.

She turned to him. "What could I call you?"

"How about you call him stray, he probably is anyway. Why do you have such a messy and smelly dog with you? He reeks!" Lily complained.

Misty fumed. "He is not smelly! He is also not messy!

Her sister shook her head. "I don't care why you have him; just get him away from the gym!"

Misty shook her head stubbornly. "And why should I? You're not the boss of me!"

"Fine then, do what you like!" Lily yelled, as she stormed off.

Misty sighed. "Sheesh, I disappear and no one notices? I feel loved."

Arcanine rubbed his mane against her hip. He wanted to cheer her up.

"Aw, thank you for caring, Arcanine! It's a good thing we found each other!" Misty scratched his hear, affectionately.

"Anyway, let's go inside. If I'm right, that boy will be back to challenge me again."

"What do you mean I can't have another challenge?" The young trainer asked, impatiently.

"For one, the gym leader isn't here. I don't know when she'll be back. Secondly, our Pokémon are still at the Pokémon Center. So go away and wait for another day." Violet told him.

"But I can't wait! If I don't get the badge today, I'll lose the bet!" he yelled.

"What bet?" Misty asked.

Both the trainer and Violet turned around. The trainer beamed while Violet frowned.

"Where have you been? I was worried!"

Misty looked down. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I…lost track of time. On the way, I met this Arcanine!" Grinning, she pointed to Arcanine.

"Okay…good for you. Anyway, this boy wants a battle but we have no Pokémon with us." Violet told her.

Misty frowned. "I could use Starmie…"

"I took Starmie this morning to the Pokémon Center since no one took your Pokémon yesterday." Violet interrupted.

"Crap! What can we do then? Do we have any other Pokémon?" Misty frantically asked.

Violet just shook her head.

Arcanine let out a bark and wagged his tail. An idea popped into Misty's head. "I know! I can use Arcanine!"

Both the trainer and Violet had skeptical looks on their faces. "Shouldn't the Cerulean Gym leader use water Pokémon?" they said in unison.

Misty shrugged. "A battle is a battle, isn't it? Or are you scared?"

The trainer's ego kicked in. "Of course I'm not scared! I just want it to be…official."

"As long as you're battling me, then it is official."

"Alright…then is it going to be 1 vs. 1?" he asked

"Yes and my sister will be the referee." Misty stated.

"What? Why do I have to be the referee?" Violet whined.

"Then let's get it on!"

"Minus, show your stuff!" The young trainer yelled as his yellow and blue Pokémon appeared from its Pokéball.

"Arcanine, show them your power!" Misty exclaimed.

"Hey Misty, shouldn't Arcanine have a name?" Violet asked.

"Well…I didn't know what name to choose."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Arcanine is a giant furry dog with a flaring coat. How hard is it to come up with a name?"

"Well…how about Flare?" the young trainer suggested.

The Arcanine's attention went to the trainer. He had responded to the name.

"Flare?" Misty called.

"Arc!" The Arcanine barked and turned towards Misty.

"Yes! Now we know its name!" Violet squealed.

"So can we get back to the fight?" the young trainer asked.

"Oh…yeah, we should."

Violet cleared her throat. "Alright, the battle between the challenger and the Cerulean Gym leader Misty will now begin. Each trainer is allowed only one Pokémon. The battle ends when either or both Pokémon are unable to continue. Begin!"

"Minus, dash forward and use Thunderbolt on Flare!"

A lightning bolt zapped from Minus's body. Before it could hit Flare, he disappeared from his spot. He reappeared in front of the Minun. Flames burst out of his mouth and burned Minus's body.

Minus flew from the platform and into the wall behind the young trainer. The battle was over after just one attack.

"How…is that possible?" the trainer stammered.

"I'm surprised too…I didn't know Flare was that strong!" Misty exclaimed.

"So…where did you find him, Misty?" Violet asked.

"I found him in the woods. Wait…how did you know Flare was a guy?" Misty asked.

Violet giggled. "That's simple. He has something very bulky down there…"

"Violet!" Misty yelled. The trainer looked away, embarrassed.

"Anyway…I'm sorry about today. There's always tomorrow though. If you want, you can challenge me then." Misty said.

The trainer shook his head. "It's too late now. The guy I made a bet with said I had to win the badge by sundown. It's too late now…"

"It's never too late, Josh." A mysterious voice came from the other side of the gym.

Confused by the familiar voice, Misty turned around to see who had arrived. All she could see was a silhouette of a teenage boy. Beside him was a large Pokémon with wings and on its head was a smaller Pokémon with a long tail.

"If you're here for a challenge, then you're out of luck; I have none of my water Pokémon right now." Misty explained to the figure.

"It's ok; I can wait, Misty. I see you've changed since the last time I saw you." The teenage boy told her.

"Who are…?" Misty gasped.

They boy stepped forward and jumped onto one of the ice platforms. The lights revealed who he was.

"Ash!" Misty yelled as she hurried towards him.

Instead of stopping, she tackled him into the water. They made a big splash.

When they resurfaced, Misty was still holding him. "Um, Misty, shouldn't we get out of the water first?" Ash asked.

Misty giggled and let go. She swam to the edge and got out of the water. Ash did the same.

"Ash, you have to give me another day! I'm sure I can beat her tomorrow!" the young trainer exclaimed.

Ash laughed. "The only reason I chose today as the deadline was to get you motivated. I didn't care when you did it; I just wanted to see you battle with all your skill."

"Oh…can I still go with you?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. "You have to beat Misty. If you can't, then you'll have to continue by yourself."

"Ash, did you promise this kid that he could go with you if he beat me?" Misty asked.

He laughed. "Yeah, I did."

Misty punched him in the shoulder. "Why did you promise that to the kid; did you think I would lose easily?"

"No, I just wanted to see if he was capable of beating you."

Misty shook her head. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Well…I came back to Kanto so I could face the gym leaders again."

"That means you fought Brock's brother already, right?"

"Actually, I didn't. Brock was the one I fought instead. He said it would be like 'good old days.'"

"Arc!" Flare barked at them. He felt ignored.

Ash laughed. "Misty, does that mean I'll have to battle Arcanine too?"

Misty laughed with him. "You might have to."

sorry if it sounds a bit rushed. Constant school projects get in the way. Anyway, half of the next chapter will be a flashback with Ash and Josh while the other half will be about Misty and Flare. Please review! :D