Rise
Brock sat dozing by a Cerulean City hospital window. Misty lay on a bed, her red-orange hair contrasting sharply with the white sheets that rose and fell with her breathing. The afternoon sunlight fell across her face and neck, illuminating the angelic features that haunted Ash's dreams.
Brock glanced at the time. Ash should've been on his final match. Brock wondered how his friend was doing. The rookie champion was so much like a younger brother to him and had been since they first met, when Ash had challenged him to a gym battle. Misty had met him a day before.
Brock shifted and stirred into wakefulness as the beeping of the heart monitor accelerated, and he frowned at the screen, tapped it. Misty's heart rate was increasing.
At length she calmed again, and the gentle beep-- beep-- beep-- of the monitor resumed its original tempo again. Just a dream, Brock thought. Just a nightmare. I wonder what she dreams about if she's forgotten everything. He didn't allow himself to think about the "if" of her waking up. I wonder if she dreams about Ash. He's grown up so much in the seven years since he first met her. "He does care about you," Brock said loudly. "He's made mistakes, but he'll learn if you forgive him. He cried when he heard that you--"
He didn't continue. He felt foolish, talking to empty air, but Misty stirred, and a frown creased her brow. Brock laughed and joked half to himself, "You do dream about Ash, don't you?"
At this, the beeping of the heart monitor increased, and Misty's breathing became gasps. Alarmed, Brock called for the nurse, who came clattering over and checked the machine worriedly.
"That's strange. There doesn't seem to be anything--"
Misty opened her eyes, and Brock stared, disbelieving. He stepped past the nurse, who was still focused on the monitor. "Misty?" Brock whispered, wide-eyed. The girl sat up and looked around in puzzlement.
"I thought... There were Pokemon... Ash..." Then she frowned. "What was I saying? Who are you?" she asked, directing the second question at Brock. She pushed the covers aside and stood up slowly, still in her hospital gown, her reddish hair mussed from sleep.
Brock had taken out his cellphone and was hurriedly dialing, even as the nurse ran out the door for the doctor. "Daisy?" he said breathlessly to Misty's eldest sister. She had stayed at the gym with the two other sisters, Lily and Violet. "You're not going to believe this."
"Then why did you call?" Daisy teased.
"No, seriously. You won't believe it." He related the news in rapture.
In the fading afternoon sunlight, two spirits rejoiced as a third stood by, still puzzled, and let the doctor check her over.