Day 3 — May 5th

Rock Tunnel, Route 10

When Ash was done righting himself from Misty's blow, the trio agreed that it made the most sense to head to the Pokémon Center outside Rock Tunnel for the night. It took them the rest of the afternoon to travel back upriver of Route 10, arriving at the Center just as the sun was about to disappear beyond the horizon, their path lead by Ash's Magnemite using Flash.

He recalled the Magnet Pokémon as they walked through the Center's sliding doors. They walked up to the counter, where the Nurse Joy there greeted them with a cheery, "Good evening." She tilted her head just slightly with the motion, a pleasant smile tugging her lips. "How can I help you?"

"Can you please check my Pokémon?" Ash asked, placing the Pokéballs containing Pidgeot, Charizard, Kingler, Magnemite, and Zapdos on a tray. He reached up to where Pikachu was dozing on his head, placing the Electric-type gently beside the rest of his Pokémon.

"Your Pikachu looks pretty worn out," admonished Nurse Joy.

"Yeah, he was pushed pretty hard," Ash admitted. "We've had a pretty long day."

"Okay, we'll do what we can. In the meantime, can I offer you a room for the night?"

"Yes, three if you have them," Brock interjected. He thumbed behind him while Nurse Joy nodded and left to grab the keys for their rooms. Ash looked in the direction his friend was indicating, finding Misty dozing lightly on one of the lounge's couches, her head against its arm. He walked to stand beside her, taking time to actually look at her now that there was a lull in their adventure.

She was a bit paler than he remembered, the whiteness of her face and hands staunch against the darker material of the couch. Her hair, still a vibrant orange-red, was longer than when they'd been children, reaching her shoulders and braided into a careless ponytail. Dark bags rimmed her eyes, a sure sign that she wasn't taking care of herself nearly as well as she conveyed in their phone conversations. The fact that she was napping in the middle of the afternoon – something she liked to be on his case about – just seemed to reinforce that fact.

Ash knew that Misty was in charge of the Cerulean Gym and had a ton of responsibilities. He also knew that those duties entailed training, battling, cleaning, and taking care of the gym and her Pokémon, among other things. But he was uncomfortable to see how much of an effect all of the work was having on her. Maybe she needs a vacation.

"Mr. Ketchum."

The black-haired trainer started suddenly, realizing he had become lost in thought. "Yes?" he answered, standing up quickly and turning to face Nurse Joy.

"Here are the keys for you and your companion. You're in rooms 113 and 114. Mr. Slate is in room 115."

"Ah, thanks," he replied. Gently, he reached down and shook Misty to wakefulness. "Hey, Mist, why don't you get some rest in a real bed? Nurse Joy's got rooms for us."

"Hm? Yeah…yeah, okay…"

"Don't worry, we'll get you when we're ready to go tomorrow morning."

"Okay, sounds good." She yawned then, dragging herself off the couch and over to where Nurse Joy had left the keys on the counter. "Night, Ash."

"Night, Mist. Sleep well." He watched her leave down the hallway to their rooms, waiting until she disappeared from view to check his phone. "I guess I've got time to make that call now." He grabbed his room key from the counter before heading to the bank of video phones that lined the wall, checking through the electronic directory for the number he sought.

-l-l-l-

"This area looks familiar," Misty stated as the trio traveled down Route 5, still closer to Cerulean City than Saffron City.

"I hope so. We only traveled all over Kanto when we were younger," Ash teased.

Misty rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yep," agreed the black-haired trainer, saying nothing else. Neither Misty nor Brock followed up, assuming that Ash wouldn't say anything else specific to their journey until they reached their destination.

It took another 45 minutes before the forest around them began to thin, revealing a large, white, stone building on the outskirts of a small town. Brock and Misty followed Ash as he approached the building, noting that on the front was a logo of a brown turtle shell with a fireman's hat atop it. Understanding dawned on Misty and Brock as Ash reached the front door and knocked.

The door creaked open to reveal an Officer Jenny and four Squirtle, the Pokémon all sporting round sunglasses and black cloth jackets, white trim edging the sleeves and bottom. "Hi Officer Jenny," he greeted, extending his hand. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me on such short notice."

"Oh, it's no problem, Ash," replied the policewoman, shaking his hand. "I'm always glad to help the kid who turned these misbehaving Squirtle into the best firefighting team this side of Kanto. Although I guess you're not a kid anymore, huh?" she laughed. "So, what is it I can do for you? I assume this isn't just a social call."

"No, you're right. I was wondering if Squirtle wanted to come with me. I mean, if you didn't need him anymore, and only if he was willing, of course. I know you do important work here, I wouldn't want to take him away from that."

"Ah, I see. Well, I don't have any problems if he wants to leave with you, but you should probably know that—"

The opening of another door within the building interrupted whatever Officer Jenny was about to say, and all heads turned to face the disturbance. Standing in the doorway was another turtle Pokémon, slightly taller than the four Squirtle and possessing fluffy white ears and an equally fluffy tail. The same black jacket was thrown around the Pokémon's shell, but the sunglasses he wore were angular instead of round. "Wartortle!" cried the Pokémon proudly, blue hands fisted on his waist.

All eyes turned back to Officer Jenny, who had the grace to look sheepish. "Your Squirtle evolved about a year ago during a big forest fire on the other side of the ravine," she explained. "I'm sorry I never told you, there were always higher priorities."

"Squirtle…evolved?" Ash mumbled numbly. With Charmander having evolved so long ago, and Bulbasaur expressing explicitly that he didn't want to evolve, Ash had always assumed that Squirtle possessed the same mindset as the grass starter. Apparently that was not the case.

"Wow, Wartortle, you look great!" complimented Misty, moving forward and leaning down to touch one of his ears. Wartortle scratched his head in an embarrassed manner as Brock also bent down to examine him. The turtle Pokémon greeted Pikachu warmly before turning to face his former trainer.

Ash shook himself out of his stupor and smiled at his old friend. "So Wartortle, what do you say? Wanna rejoin the team?"

Wartortle stared at Ash for a moment before walking over to the Squirtle Squad and entering a discussion with them. After a minute, he turned and whipped off his glasses, brown eyes shimmering with happiness. "War wartortle!" he agreed.

"Alright!" cheered Ash. "Welcome back, buddy!"

-l-l-l-

Wartortle walked alongside Ash and Pikachu, chatting amicably with the electric mouse. After a quick lunch, Ash even released Bulbasaur to join the reunion, though the dinosaur-like Grass-type maintained a frigid attitude towards the evolved turtle for well over an hour. It took Pikachu beginning a game of tag for Bulbasaur to apparently forgive his old friend, dropping the cold persona to frolic with Pikachu and Wartortle along the dirt path of Route 5, exchanging tales of adventures long past in their own tongue.

Ash nudged Misty. "See? Not everyone holds a grudge."

"Not everyone does stupid things over and over again."

"She kind of has a point, Ash."

"Jerks," Ash muttered, his two friends exchanging a high-five behind his back.

The sun was beginning to set when the group reached the checkpoint outside Saffron City, and they decided to spend the evening in the safety of the shelter. In a show of rekindled friendship, Wartortle and Bulbasaur joined Pikachu in a curled huddle near their trainer, their bond unbroken.

When Misty rose late the next morning, she glanced over to find Ash and his Pokémon absent, though his sleeping bag laid unrolled on the ground. She crawled over to Brock and shook him awake. "Brock, Ash is missing!"

"He left earlier to visit Sabrina," came the mumbled response.

"What? Why? And how do you know?"

The breeder groaned, giving up the fight for sleep and rising to a sitting position. "He woke me up before he left and asked me if I wanted to come along," he yawned. "I declined."

"But why?" she repeated.

"Well, no offense to Sabrina, but every time I think of her, I can only focus on the fact that she turned us into dolls. It's kind of a slight turn-off to visiting her often."

Misty shuddered, the memory – while 15 years old – still a horrific one to recall. While Sabrina had been nothing but polite – if stoic – at the Indigo League's conferences and events since then, Misty also found it hard to be in her presence for extended periods of time without remembering that mishap. The redhead shook off the feeling before returning to the topic at hand. "I mean, why did Ash go to see her?"

Brock shrugged. "He likes her."

"WHAT?"

Brock quirked an eyebrow. "Well, sure. They talk often enough, and the couple of times that he's come to Saffron, he always goes to see her. They're really good friends, and he uses her insight and knowledge of Psychic-type Pokémon all the time for his research. Besides, I think that Sabrina is still grateful to him for helping to break her out of her funk when he came for the Marsh Badge the first time around."

"Oh. I see," Misty murmured, her mood melancholy. "Are they…dating?"

"Dating?" Brock blinked in surprise and then burst out into laughter. "That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard! I've never even seen Ash go on a date, let alone express romantic interest in a woman. Why, jealous?" he finished with a smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Misty huffed, standing up and turning around to hide her rapidly reddening face. "Like anyone could like that dork," she muttered, stalking away.

"If you say so."

Brock didn't bring up the subject of Ash again that morning. He and Misty nibbled a quick breakfast in silence before packing up all of their belongings and walking into the heart of Saffron City.

Ash met the duo at the halfway point between Sabrina's gym and the northern checkpoint where they had stayed the night. He was running excitedly, a large grin plastered on his face as Pikachu, Wartortle, and Bulbasaur followed on his heels. Brock asked him what made him so happy, prompting Ash to grin cheekily but give no verbal reply.

Misty was stony-faced and temperamental for the rest of the day.

-l-l-l-

Apparently, thought Misty bitterly, Sabrina is a special case as far as women go.

Barring the day they'd left Saffron City, Misty had tried to put the thought of Sabrina and Ash out of her mind. She had (generally) succeeded for the several days following their departure to the west, but after passing through Celadon City – where Ash hadn't even mentioned Celadon Gym Leader Erika, and Brock had disappeared for the evening – the Cerulean Gym Leader couldn't help but think of the Saffron Gym Leader.

Misty wasn't stupid. She, Erika, and Sabrina were the only female Gym Leaders in Kanto, and as such, were renowned throughout the region. Erika was easily the prettiest and most feminine of the three, and Sabrina was arguably the strongest and had the most social status. By comparison, Misty was…plain. She wasn't beautiful like Erika or well-bred like Sabrina; if her family was to be taken seriously, she was average-looking and good at battling, but not extraordinarily talented at much else. While not a compelling status symbol, she'd been proud of her strong friendship with ex-Indigo Champion and current Frontier Brain Ash Ketchum, something only a select few could claim to truly possess.

And until now, she'd thought that that was something she could privately laud over the other two female Gym Leaders.

…Stupid Sabrina.

Lost in thought, Misty walked straight into Brock, who had come to a stop. The Water-type specialist looked up and saw that they'd stopped in front of a small house set off the beaten path, the door of which Ash was currently knocking on. Misty couldn't hide her confusion as the door opened to reveal a large man with tanned skin, square jaw, and bulging muscles. "Yeah?" asked the man, wiping sweat from his forehead with a red towel.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir," began Ash. "My name is Ash, and these are my traveling companions, Brock and Misty. I was just wondering if you have a Primeape."

The man remained silent for a moment, appearing to consider the question. He spit to one side and nodded. "Yeah, I got a Primeape," he replied. "Real P1 fighting champ, that 'un." He eyed Ash suspiciously. "Why do ya ask?"

"Well, you probably don't remember me, but I was the kid who beat you in the P1 Grand Prix 15 years ago with my Primeape."

The man looked Ash up and down before moving aside and letting the trio enter the house. "My memory ain't too good, but I'll let ya see Primeape if ya want. The name's Anthony."

The group crowded into the living room, where a Primeape was busy doing sit-ups while a Hitmonchan held on to its feet. "Primeape!" barked Anthony. "This kid 'ere says he knows ya."

Primeape jumped to its feet in one swift move, approaching Ash slowly and sniffing with its pig-like nose. It circled Ash for a bit, smelling the trainer intermittently, before stopping in front of him with a confused expression on its face.

Ash noticed Primeape's confusion and moved his backpack, unzipping it and rooting around inside. "Maybe this will jog your memory, bud," he said, pulling out a battered red and white hat with a green Pokémon League symbol on the front.

Primeape's eyes began to water as it reached out with a trembling fist for the hat. "Pri…" uttered the ape-like Pokémon weakly, the voice distinctly masculine. "Prime!" he cried, latching on to Ash's waist.

Ash laughed happily. "It's good to see you too, buddy. Been a long time. So you became a true P1 Champ, huh?" Primeape stepped back and nodded, attempting to wipe away the tears from his eyes with his gloves.

"So ya really are the kid who gave me Primeape," Anthony admitted. "That Pokémon has guts, I'll tell ya that much. And if Primeape wants ta go with ya, then I'm not one to stand in yer way. But you've got ta prove yerself."

"Prove myself?"

"Ya need to show me that Primeape can learn something from ya. I challenge you to a Pokémon battle, Ash. If you can defeat Primeape, he's all yours. Whaddya say?"

Ash's eyes burned with fire at the declaration. "You're on!"

-l-l-l-

It took a couple of minutes to shuffle everyone outside, Brock standing beside the imaginary battlefield acting as referee. To his left were Anthony and Primeape, the Pig Monkey Pokémon mashing his gloved hands together in excitement. Ash stood on the other side, a slight breeze shifting the bottom of his white lab coat and ruffling his hair. "Alright," stated Brock, "you guys know the rules. No time limit. Begin!"

Ash reached behind his back and unclipped one of the Pokéballs attached to his belt there. "Go!" he cried, pitching the ball forward. It hit the ground and bounced, opening in midair and emitting the usual flash of white light, which reformed into a gigantic purple mass of foul-smelling sludge.

"Muuuuuk!"

On the sidelines, Misty blinked. "That was…unexpected."

"Ash learned how to use Muk's dense body to his advantage," explained Brock without turning around. "Just watch."

"Muk, use Sludge Bomb," commanded Ash. The purple Pokémon rose to its full height and opened its giant maw wide, releasing a barrage of dense black orbs at Primeape.

"Dodge," demanded Anthony. Primeape jumped to and fro, evading the toxic attack. "Now set yourself up for a finishing blow," he continued. With practiced ease, Primeape jumped from rock formation to rock formation, his speed surprising Ash. He landed in front of Muk just as Anthony called out, "Mega Punch!"

"It's over," Brock commented quietly to Misty. "Anthony just played right into Ash's hand."

Primeape reared back his glowing white fist and planted it squarely into Muk's body. The Poison-type let out a low grunt, but otherwise didn't do anything else. Anthony looked surprised, but quickly called out, "Pull back!" Primeape tried to free his hand, but to no avail.

"Nice job, Muk!" shouted Ash. "Now, just like we practiced! Body Slam!" On its trainer's orders, Muk reared up again, becoming a towering wave of goo that broke over Primeape, smothering the primate Pokémon with its mass. After several seconds, Muk pulled back to reveal Primeape unconscious on the ground.

"The winner is Ash!" called Brock after a few seconds, waiting to make sure that Primeape wouldn't rise. Anthony recalled the Pokémon and walked over to Ash, who was being smothered affectionately by Muk.

"It looks like you can teach Primeape more than I can now, Ash," Anthony admitted. He held out Primeape's Pokéball, which Ash took gratefully.

"Thank you, Anthony," said Ash. "I know that Primeape must have become a lot stronger thanks to you, and I owe you a lot for taking care of him all this time."

"Ah, it was nothin'. Now get outta here and get back on your journey. I'm sure you kids have a lot to take care of."

The trio waved goodbye to Anthony and his Hitmonchan, stopping in the nearby town to take shelter for the night. The next day, they were up, packed, and ready to go by mid-morning. They rented bikes to travel down Cycling Road, promising to return them at the other end.

With the wind at their backs and the slope of the notorious Cycling Road, it took around ten hours – plus a lunch break – to make it to the other end. After dropping the bikes off, the group walked toward Fuschia City, arriving a little after dark. They rushed to the Pokémon Center and managed to get the last room there, where all three trainers promptly collapsed. Pikachu, dozing atop Ash's head, merely opened an eye and glanced around before jumping off his perch and curling up on a pillow.

"Phew, what a day," breathed Misty. "A hot shower and a warm meal sound really good right now."

It took a moment to register what Misty said, but then all three sat up at the off-hand comment, shouting, "Dibs!" and running for the bathroom door. "Ladies first," cooed Misty sweetly, closing and locking the door after slipping through. Ash and Brock grumbled halfheartedly before playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would get the shower next.

-l-l-l-

After two hours, the travelers were all clean, fed, and dressed for bed, relaxing in their room. Brock walked over to Ash, who was sitting on the floor staring at a map, and bent over to get a better look. "What are you doing, Ash?"

"Planning," he responded, picking up the map and placing it on the desk. Misty sat up from her position on the bottom bed and swung her legs over the edge, standing up and looking over Ash's right shoulder as Brock took a position above his left. "We're here," stated Ash, pointing at the dot by the coast that represented Fuschia City. "We need to go here and here," he continued, pointing at two different islands.

"Well, Seafoam is just a quick ride up the coast from here," said Misty, traveling the path with her finger to the first island Ash had pointed to. "We can take Gyarados to get there."

"And that's Knot Island, right?" Brock asked. At Ash's nod, he continued, "It's most notable feature is Mt. Ember. I can only assume that you think Moltres is there."

"Research suggests so, yeah."

"There's a ferry from Cinnabar Island that goes to the Sevii Islands. That's probably the easiest way. It takes almost a week from there, so I don't think we should rely on Gyarados to take us. We'll just have to head west to Cinnabar from Seafoam."

"Works for me," agreed Ash. Then he yawned, the action repeated seconds later by both Misty and Brock. "Well, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's hit the hay," he suggested. His two friends nodded, and he climbed to the top bunk where Pikachu was already asleep while Misty crawled in below him. Brock flipped off the light and settled in himself, and soon the room was filled only with the sounds of slumber.

-l-l-l-

"Brrr…I wish I had known it would be this cold," chattered Misty, rubbing her arms for additional warmth.

"Want me to come warm you up?" asked Ash with a coy smirk.

Brock rolled his eyes as the pair exchanged remarks, too used to the arguments to get caught up in them anymore. "Sometimes I wish they would just kiss and get over themselves already," he muttered. Pikachu, moving away from the fighting couple, squeaked his agreement with Brock's statement.

The journey to Seafoam had been, thankfully, uneventful. The ride had been quiet, all travelers enjoying the tangy bite of the salty sea in the wind as Gyarados had moved swiftly through the gentle water. Misty had taken charge upon landing, herding them all into the icy island and then leading them on a downhill slope to its depths.

Judging by how far they had traveled so far, and considering the drop in temperature, Brock guessed that they were more than halfway to the bottom, where Ash was sure Articuno would be residing.

"Ash! What are you doing? I told you I don't need you to warm me up!"

Brock snapped back to reality, catching sight of a flushed Misty shoving a laughing Ash away from her. More embarrassed than angry, Misty stomped her foot on the floor in a huff as Ash tried to stop his laughter and placate her.

Chik.

Beside Brock, Pikachu's ears twitched. He looked around suspiciously, realizing too late what the sound was. The electric mouse let out a cry of warning to Ash and Misty, but it proved to be useless.

Misty looked down as the ice beneath her gave way, the force of her stomp enough to break the thin sheet of ice covering the hole in the floor. She gave a shrill scream as she dropped, prompting Ash into action. Brock's and Pikachu's shouts went unheard as Ash dove after his best friend, the pounding torrent of the rushing water below growing louder and louder in his ears.