Hello again everyone. Hope you enjoyed the previous chapter, and please remember to leave a comment or a review. This chapter reveals the identity of the person Misty met with, but I'm pretty sure it's obvious who it is, though. This chapter also has an alternate set up as to the events after Ash received his Volcano Badge in Cinnibar. I hope you guys don't mind this change.

Oh yeah, this chapter will also have another Ash and Misty spat, but I hope you all are noticing how forced it is, as they're trying to come up with insults towards one another since they're too stubborn to admit how they truly feel.

That aside, I know you're all probably wondering when they will eventually get to Viridian, but please bare with me. We will eventually get to that as well as to why Misty's so uneasy about it.

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Pokemon franchise. Nintendo, 4Kids, Gamefreak, etc., have those rights, and here are the age reminders once again...

Ash: 13
Misty: 14
Brock: 19

Part 03: "Long time no see, Ash, Pikachu." The Stranger's Identity!

Last time, Ash and Brock, along with a reluctant Charizard, went in search of Misty after she didn't return from changing. After the short trek, they found her talking with someone. Who is this person?

Misty Title: The Stranger's Identity!

Brock looked over at the stranger. "Who's that?"

"Hey Ash, Pikachu," the boy greeted. "I haven't seen you guys in a while, but who's your friend?"

Pikachu jumped from Misty to the boy giving him a hug. Surprised to see the boy, Ash greeted him with a simple, "Hello."

"This is Brock," Misty explained. "He just joined back up with Ash and me recently."

The boy put his hand out and smiled. "It's great to meet you! Ash and Misty have told me a lot about you. They told me that you're the former Pewter city gymleader and you're working towards being the world's best Pokemon Breeder."

Brock accepted his hand and shook it. "Nice meeting you too, um…"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Kenji."

"Where are you headed?" Ash asked.

"I'm on my way to Viridian. I heard that the gymleader there battles with some really rare Pokemon, and I was hoping to sketch and paint them…if he lets me. I'm also looking for some new Pokemon to observe."

"Wow, that's really cool! So you're an artist that observes Pokemon?"

"Well, the art thing started off as a hobby, but I became really interested in Pokemon and how they develop, so I would sketch them. That's how I got into Pokemon Watching and researching them."

"This is my first time meeting an actual Pokemon Watcher. You must know a lot about Pokemon."

"Yeah a bit, but you're a breeder."

"I'm still learning a lot, though from my travels. I like caring for Pokemon more than battling them."

Ash turned to the temperamental girl. "Why didn't you just bring Kenji back to camp with us?"

"Maybe I didn't want to. Maybe I wanted someone decent to talk to," she shot at him, "unlike you."

Overhearing the retort, Kenji pointed at the pair. "So, I'm guessing you two aren't a couple yet…"

"Him?!"

"Her?!"

"Not on your life!" both shouted in unison.

The two then crossed their arms in disgust, and gave off a disgruntled, "Hmmph."

"Sorry, sorry," he hastily apologized, while scratching his head with a sweatdrop. "It's just when I first met you two, I thought you were a couple and just figured you'd gotten together since we split," he finished up meekly, due to the death glares both teens were giving him.

"Me and her?! She's nothing but a- a-a redheaded brat!"

"Well, um, at least my face doesn't look like-like-like a mound of dirt!"

Ash got into Misty's face and shouted, "At least I'm not uh-uh….a scrawny little squawking rooster who needs to get a life for following me around for a stupid bike!"

"Don't you start that again Ash!" the girl warned direly, a nerve forming on her head.

"I can start whatever I want to start!"

"If you hadn't have destroyed my 'stupid bike' I would've never started following around a hopeless creep who'll probably never become a Pokemon master because he's too dense and dumb!" Misty set Togepi down and took out her mallet and slammed the boy with it. "AND DON'T CALL ME SCRAWNY!"

Brock held his head in frustration. It was too late to put up with this nonsense. "Come on guys, please stop fighting. It's getting annoying! You two sound like my siblings; the really young ones! You two give me worse headaches than they ever did!"

"I'm sorry I caused this…"

"No, it's not your fault. They always get that way. It's getting to the point where they argue for the sake of arguing," Brock whispered to the artist.

"Pikachu…" the electric mouse groaned, as he hopped down from Kenji's shoulder. He took notice of Togepi who had been looking from Misty to Ash during their heated exchange.

"I see nothing's really changed then," he whispered back. "Their arguments have always felt forced to me."

Since Brock had spoken up in such a way, the two stopped arguing and looked down at the ground in embarrassment, realizing that he was right. Both murmured out "Sorry" to the older boys, while Togepi chirped happily.

"Kenji, when and where did you meet them, anyway?"

The boy rubbed his chin as he thought back. "I met them a few weeks ago in Cinnibar. Ash had just received the Volcano Badge from Blaine, who's definitely one of the best fire Pokemon trainers around! I've always heard that there's no fire Pokemon he can't tame or train."

"I was around for that battle, and boy was it intense!" Brock recalled. "Seeing Blaine in action was great! After the battle, I headed back to Pewter by plane. I had to go home to help my father with the gym, so we promised to meet up again in Pewter when passing through on their way to Viridian."

"No wonder I didn't meet you. Sounds like you had to rush off."

Brock nodded. "My father was sick, so he couldn't run it and my siblings are still pretty young."

"So, in the shopping district, I had a booth set up with my Pokemon paintings and drawings for sale. Ash and Misty were looking around, and Misty came over to my booth. She really liked my pictures, especially the Magmar. We started talking for a while and they mentioned that they were going to hang around Cinnibar for about another day or two and that afterwards, they'd head back to the mainland for Viridian.

"I had been in Cinnibar for a few days anyway to meet with the gymleader and study some of the fire Pokemon Blaine had and to sell my paintings of them of course. The night I met Misty and Ash, was my last night there, but I decided to hang back with these two. After Cinnibar, I was planning on going to Cerulean to meet up with the gymleaders there.

"I was honored that I was requested by them personally. They wanted me to paint a portrait of them with all of their Water Pokemon for the gym."

"Ce-ru-le-an. The Sensational Sisters. They're really pretty."

"Yeah, they are," Kenji nodded in agreement. "Speaking of pretty, I see that Misty is just as pretty as her sisters," he complimented with a warm smile.

Brock came out of his trance. He just couldn't view Misty in such a way, especially since he'd always viewed her as a younger sister.

"Th-thanks, Kenji," the girl lightly blushed.

Annoyed, Ash abruptly asked, "So, Misty, when are you leaving?"

"Leaving? What? Oh, um, I'm not leaving. Kenji's joining our group."

"Great!" the young trainer cheered with a clap, glad that Misty definitely wasn't leaving. "We have to get up early so we might as well head back to camp and rest up. I see Pikachu and Togepi are already asleep."

Misty looked down to see that both Pokemon were snoozing soundly, Togepi resting in Pikachu's arms.

"That's a great pose of them! Don't move or wake them yet. I have to capture this…"

Kenji, grateful that the moon was full and high, went through his bag and pulled out a sketch book and a pencil. He started to sketch the two as fast as possible. Brock and the others looked on in amazement over how diligent and precise the boy drew, despite the limited lighting. Before long, he'd finished, although he frowned some, as it wasn't his best work.

"Wow, you're fast," Ash blinked.

"This one isn't too good, but when observing Pokemon in the wild, you have to be able to sketch them fast. Unfortunately, due to the lighting, it isn't very detailed or good."

Ash looked the sketch over, still finding it impressive. "What are you talking about? This looks great, but you know, wouldn't it be easier to just use a camera?"

Misty smacked Ash in the back of the head. "He's an artist, not a photographer!"

"I know that!"

"Don't worry about it, Ash. Yeah, using a camera would be easier, but I like to draw Pokemon right in the moment, as opposed to getting a photo and making a sketch from that. That's my way of catching Pokemon…on canvas."

"Very impressive either way," Brock told him in awe. "Okay guys, let's head back to the campsite."

"I was planning on setting up here. While walking, I stopped at this stream to rest a bit and nodded off. Misty startled me awake." The watcher turned towards the stream and called out, "Growlithe we're going to rest up, but we have to leave."

A small, puppy-like Pokemon wearing bandages in his middle and his right front leg, limped towards the group. The small dog-like Pokemon had been resting by the other end of the stream and also drinking. Growlithe barked out a "Hello" to the group.

"Wow, a Growlithe!" Ash exclaimed. "When did you catch one?"

"It's an interesting, yet sad, story, but do you think we could head back to camp first?"

"Sure," Misty answered while gently shaking Pikachu and Togepi awake. She picked up Togepi while Ash gathered up a groggy Pikachu.

After the short walk, Kenji using his flashlight, Brock restarted the fire and Misty and Kenji set out their sleeping bags. While getting situated, Kenji started to weave his tale, Growlithe slumping down next to him.

"So how did you get the Growlithe?!" Ash asked anxiously.

"What happened to him?" asked Brock curiously.

"Well, like I started saying earlier, it's kind of sad. I found Growlithe a few days ago. He was bruised pretty badly," he told them disheartened. "He was also a bit sick. He couldn't eat very well, but with my limited knowledge and not being anywhere near a Pokemon Center, I've been trying my best to take care of him.

"I had some medicines on me for different Pokemon ailments, like some Full Heal meds, but he's still a bit weak. This journey we've been on has been pretty slow, but I didn't mind resting longer than I would usually." He pet the dog, who looked up at him and smiled.

"Why don't you just put him in a Pokeball? It'll be faster to carry him around that way."

"That was the first thing I tried, Ash, but it seems he belongs to someone." Kenji expression hardened, looking completely disgusted. "His old trainer abandoned him and left him in the forest to suffer. I asked if that's what happened and he nodded to me."

"That's what happened to Charmander. A trainer left him out in the rain just because he thought he was weak! That jerk Damien would probably wet himself if he saw how strong Charizard is now."

"Hm, mind if I check Growlithe out? I may have something that could help him."

"Yeah, please. You're the breeder and would know more about nursing Pokemon than I would. According to Ash and Misty, you're definitely one of the best!"

"Th-thanks." Brock looked over Growlithe, noticing that Kenji had definitely dressed the fire-dog's wounds perfectly. "Has he eaten much today?"

"No, not so much, but he has been drinking a lot of water. That's why we were by the stream."

"His stomach may be a bit sensitive right now. I have the perfect thing for him." He took out the same chewable Pokemon treats he'd given to Vulpix earlier and then a small, healthy specially blended bowl of Pokemon food. "This medicine should help a little. It's supposed to be good for all stomach problems that Pokemon face, and the food here is very light, but has a lot of nutrients and vitamins good for fire types."

Growlithe looked up at the squinty-eyed, brown-haired boy. He accepted the food, which was surprisingly tasty, as well as the medicine. He definitely trusted this group and felt safe with them, although there was something about Misty that felt a bit unsettling. No, he didn't fear her, far from it…but there was just something about her that felt familiar… It made him curious, but he soon felt sleep overtake him and started snoring soundly, Kenji still petting his head gently.

"He looks so peaceful, thanks a lot Brock."

"No problem."

"I'm really glad I ran into you guys, especially you Misty."

"Why?" Ash asked while giving him a suspicious look.

"I mentioned that I went to Cerulean to do a portrait of Misty's sisters and their Pokemon. They were actually going on about wishing that Misty was there too. They wanted you in the portrait and they also wanted to return some of your Pokemon to you.

"When I told them that I knew you and Ash and that I was going to Viridian, they asked if I could deliver them to you. They only gave me two, though. I was actually going to leave it at the Viridian City Pokemon Center with a message. I left Cinnibar before you two did, so I figured I'd get to Viridian before you."

"Wow, but don't they need the Pokemon for their water shows?"

"They have a lot more Pokemon now according to them." He went through his backpack and handed Misty two Pokeballs.

She tossed the first one. Her eyes lit up as she hugged it. "Starmie! It's been so long! It's great seeing you again! Did my sisters take good care of you?"

"Hya! (They sure did!)"

"So this other one is probably Horsea."

"Nah, I have no idea what that one is. They mentioned that the Horsea there was yours, but felt that it was best if he remained there around the pool."

"Yeah…that's why I left him there, so that he'll always have a place to swim…but I sure do miss him…"

"It was Brock's idea. Horsea seemed to be down a lot, so he figured that that was probably the problem," Ash explained.

Misty examined the Pokeball in her hand. "If it isn't Horsea, I wonder what this one could be..." She tossed the ball up and down, thinking of different Pokemon that her sisters had. "Well, I can't think of one my sisters would part with. Guess there's only one way for me to find out. Pokeball go!"

All of a sudden, a popping sound was heard from Misty's backpack, and a chubby ducklike creature holding his head now stood.

"Psyduck, I didn't call you!"

"Psy?"

"I hope it's not another Psyduck," she muttered under her breath. She then held her head in frustration. "Those three probably would play a mean trick on me like that. One dumb duck is enough. I hope when you evolve, that your brain does too!"

"Psy?"

Misty pulled out Psyduck's Pokeball. "Psyduck return!" The red beam sucked the psychic duck back in. She tossed the new one, "Pokeball, go!"

Out of the red and white spear sat a Pokemon that was a majestic icy, yet aqua blue. Its smooth skin seemed to glisten in the moonlight. It stood on all fours and swung its fish-like tail. Misty stared on, her eyes shining.

"A Vaporeon! Wow! When we get to Viridian, I'll call and thank them."

"There was something else they said…oh, they said that thisi s their way of thanking you for saving the gym."

"Wow Misty, you have a Vaporeon! We should battle to help train it!"

"Yeah Ash, that would be nice." The girl turned to the Pokemon who was now lying on the ground. "Hi there Vaporeon. Welcome to our team."

The Pokemon nodded to her and rubbed its head against Misty's leg affectionately. This made the redhead smile.

After recalling Starmie and Vaporeon, she sighed. "I still miss Horsea though. I really do hope my sisters are taking good care of him…"

"They can take care of me anytime," Brock said in a dreamy voice with a spaced out look on his face.

Everyone ignored Brock and got settled into their sleeping bags.

"Goodnight everyone," Ash told his friends as he fell into a deep slumber...