Outlaw

Chapter 7: Trovita

The Gym Leader of Trovita had been friends with Gary for a long, long time. Gary and Rudy had met when they were still young during the last family trip the Oaks had taken. Rudy was not the Gym Leader back then, but it was amazing what building sand castles could do to kids. Rudy's family and Gary's family had been close until Gary's parents died. Rudy and Gary would exchange emails occasionally, but Rudy had not heard from Gary until a few days ago when Blaine sent a letter to the Leader of the Trovita Gym to inform him of their arrival. Gary and Misty had borrowed Blaine's private yacht and had been on the seas for three days. If their calculations were correct, they would arrive at Trovita Island by nightfall. When Misty had asked Gary where they were headed to, she had been quick to cover her surprise when she heard Trovita. Memories of her travels with Ash appeared in her head. She remembered Trovita, she remembered Mahri, and she definitely remembered Rudy.

Misty closed her eyes as she completely relaxed inside the tub. Blaine had suggested she took a few baths in water with regular salt to make the bruises go away faster. She was surprised to see the home remedy work like a charm. It had been almost two weeks since the fire, and the markings of the incident were almost completely gone from her body. Her girly visit of the month had arrived this morning, and she had never been so glad to confirm she was not pregnant. Only a desperate woman would want a child from a Rocket member.

The water was steamy hot and she welcomed every inch of it. Gary had told her about an hour ago that they were located two hours away from Trovita, and while she had nothing against the island or their inhabitants, she was not sure what to expect. It had been a little bit over eight years since her first and only visit to Trovita, and she did not know if Rudy knew she was tagging along with Gary. Gary and Misty had agreed to keep their relationship a secret until the waters were clear, so they had to act as if they were only friends. While this was no problem for either of them, she could not help to remember what had occurred the last time she arrived to Trovita with a boy as friend.

"Mahri must be sixteen! She's all grown up by now!"

She wondered if she should tell Gary what had transpired when Ash's journey brought her to Trovita once before, but she did not know how much information was safe to offer. Gary did not seem as the jealous type, and she doubted Rudy had any interest in her anymore after ten years, but she was sure the topic would be brought up at some point. She did not know how long they would stay in Trovita, but she knew that even if it was only for a few hours, either Rudy or Mahri would bring it up.

"It was a big deal, but it didn't mean much to me. I should definitely tell him."

Misty smiled at the thought of Gary fuming with jealousy, but she knew that was an impossible scenario. Truth was that Gary had nothing to fear. Whether or not he knew about this was a different story. She sighed when she realized she needed to end her bath. She only had less than an hour to get ready, and she knew they could not waste much time out in the open where they could be seen. The sun was nowhere to be seen anymore, but neither of them wanted to risk being caught. She stood up, grabbed a towel, and allowed the water to begin draining from the tub.

She walked to the mirror and used the back of her hand to clean off some of the steam that had built up on it. She stared at her image and remembered the last time she had taken a steamy bath like this. She had been staring at herself in a mirror back in her home in Cerulean. Her home that was now destroyed. All the effort, time and money that had been invested in the Gym had gone down the drain quicker than the water in the tub. She could not believe that the only inheritance from her parents was now only a memory in the back of her head. Her home and her childhood memories had been literally burned away.

She grabbed the towel and began drying herself up as she tried to replace the sad memories of her burnt home with ideas on how to tell Gary about Rudy. The more she thought about it, the more she hit herself for not telling him days ago when she had found out they were coming here. She had no idea how Gary would take the news, even if nothing ever happened while they stayed in Trovita, but a few days heads up would have not hurt anyone.

"Maybe just me."

She quickly got dressed and held her hair in the now classic ponytail that Gary had claimed he loved. She wore a pair of blue jeans, a black turtleneck, black boots and an oversized belt that was held by her hips rather than the jeans. She cleaned the bathroom and made sure everything was left as she had found it before leaving the premises and heading to the room. She picked up all of her belongings from the floor and placed them inside her bag. She repeated the motion for Gary's belongings and brought the two bags with her to the deck. Gary was standing inside the main room where he made sure their destination was still on their track.

He looked at her and stared, waving at her to join him inside. She carried the bags and did as told, dropping the bags at the entrance. She stood behind him and held him by his waist as he maneuvered the yacht to its final destination. "How much longer?"

"'Bout twenty minutes, we should be seeing the lighthouse any time now."

"Okay."

Misty rested her cheek on Gary's back and rocked him side to side. Gary welcomed the contact and smiled as he kept a close eye on the sea. The wind had begun picking up and a storm had been expected to fall on them soon. He was glad they were so close to Trovita and hoped the storm would give them twenty more minutes to arrive into town. "You are gonna love Trovita, it has a nice beach."

"I know. I've been here."

Gary could not help to utter a sound of surprise. Misty saw the opportunity to tell him about her experience in Trovita. It was now or never, and it was better this way because she could not see his face. "Is Rudy still the Gym Leader? Or did Mahri take over?"

Gary felt his curiosity meter go up a notch. He raised an eyebrow but decided to sound as calmed and casual as the playboy always had. "Rudy's still in charge. I've never met Mahri…she was not even born the last time I saw him."

"She's the cutest little girl…or was…she is a teenager now."

"Oh."

Gary remained silent; waiting for Misty to offer the information he so wanted to know. He did not want to sound too intrigued, but the truth was that he really was. He cleared his throat as he checked the time again. Had it really been only thirty seconds since the last time he saw it?

"How long are we staying in Trovita?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"I have some of my sources looking for information based on what we know. As soon as they get back to me, I'll tell you what we'll do next."

"Ok," Misty said cursing his name inside. She knew what he was doing, and he wanted to kick him right there and then. She knew that he knew she was withholding information. As the good ol' Gary Oak he still was, he was playing the same game with her. She knew both of them would not give up without a fight. It was just a matter of who lasted longer or who begged first.

"I wonder if Mahri remembers me."

"I'm sure she does…I mean, it hasn't been long since you last saw her, right?"

Misty smiled. Gary was digging for information. "Well, it doesn't seem as that long, but maybe it has."

Gary cleared his throat again to hide a growl. She was playing hard to get. "Then I guess it depends on the circumstances Mahri met you."

"Very true. She must remember me, then."

"Dammit!" Gary thought. "Why must she remember you? Did you save her life or something?"

"I guess you can say that."

"I'm sure Rudy was very grateful."

"Oh, he really was," Misty said with a hint of intrigue in her voice.

"Of course he was. If someone saved my sister from death I would be very grateful too, especially if she was saved by a pretty h…. –wait, what?"

"What?"

"Did he ask you out?"

Misty cleared her throat as she let go of Gary and walked to the front of the room. Gary stood there as he made sure the boat remained on course. "Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Rudy ask you out?"

"Technically, no."

"So what did he technically do then?"

"He…asked me to stay…in Trovita…with him…"

"What?!"

Misty sighed and turned around to face Gary who now had a very unpleasant look on his face. "Come on, Gary. That was years ago! He was just thankful Mahri didn't die."

"Psh, yeah, sure, uh-huh…"

"Gary, that is old news. I said no. I'm here now aren't I?" It seemed Gary was of the jealous type.

"Gary, you aren't mad at me for something that happened when you didn't even live with me, right?"

"Of course not, uh-huh."

"Gary."

"Mmhhh…"

"Gary, stop being a baby and utter complete sentences please!"

"What was that? That you want babies with Rudy?"

"Gary Oak!"

Gary sighed as he looked down at the clock. Trovita was ten minutes away from them. The city lights were visible already. Time sure flew by when you had fun…or were arguing. "Gary, talk to me. Are you mad?"

Gary took a deep breath. He stared at Misty as she walked close to him. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder and used it to rest her weight on it as her right hand touched his left cheek. He did not move closer to her but he did not move away either. He knew that he was being silly, but he wanted to see how much she would do to make him happy again.

"Look, it was when I traveled with Ash. I didn't even know Mahri was his sister. I just saw a little six-year old drowning and did what you'd done as well. Rudy asked me to stay, yes, but I wasn't interested in him. I'm sure he has forgotten it by now, it's been a long, long, long time. Things have changed. We've all changed. We didn't even like each other back then! Will you please let it go?"

Gary looked at her pleading eyes and realized he was being a baby. He offered her a smile and she smiled back, relieved that he had dropped the issue sooner than Ash had. "Are we ok?"

Gary nodded as he let go of the steering wheel. "Looks like we're here."

Misty looked back and saw the lights of Trovita. The lighthouse was the brightest one of all, but the city ones were far more amazing. "I hadn't seen Trovita like this."

"Wish we could be here just to visit. During the summer, they have a festival of lights. It's pretty awesome."

"Well, someday you can bring me here, eh?"

"Sure, if you don't end up living here with Rudy."

"Gary!"

Gary smiled as he began slowing down the yacht. He squinted as he saw two figures waiting at the dock. Misty allowed Gary some space to bring the yacht to a complete stop while she grabbed the bags. She placed her under arm and held Gary's on her other hand while he made sure they did not hit the dock. A few seconds later, Gary and Misty were exiting the yacht and waving at Rudy and a very pretty girl.

Rudy stared at Gary and then moved his attention to the redhead that was with him. He squinted a little and furrowed his eyebrows trying to recognize her. Misty was able to tell he was trying very hard to remember her as they approached them and stood right in front of them. "Hey Rudy! Long time no see, eh?"

Rudy nodded as he introduced Mahri to Gary. Mahri bowed to Gary and then mimicked her brother's look to Misty. "Brother…is that who I think it is?"

"I think so…Misty?"

Misty smiled and nodded. Mahri ran towards her and gave her a big hug that Misty was quick to give back. Rudy smiled at Misty and then turned to Gary. "I didn't know she was coming with you."

"I didn't know you knew her."

"Small world, it seems."

"Very small, if you ask me."

The two men stared at Mahri holding Misty's arm as she pulled her to the road to Trovita's Gym. Rudy gave Misty a pat on the back to welcome her, and both men followed closely behind. Mahri did not let go of Misty until they reached her home and kept talking and talking about everything she had done after Misty had left.

"I've been training a lot, Misty! I'm almost as good as you are!"

"I'm sure you've been training more than I have! You'd probably surpass me by now."

"Never! But we can check later on, right? Would you battle with me?"

Misty gave her a weak smile not truly wanting to battle her. She did not know how strong Mahri was, but she knew she could beat her thanks to Gary's training. She did not want to be the one to disappoint Mahri, to her she still looked six years old. "I don't know about that, Mahri. I don't know how long I'll be here."

"It's not like you have anywhere else to go, right? Those people at the League are giving you a hard time. You can stay forever if you want."

"Mahri! That's so rude!"

"What? It's true! I don't believe them, anyway. And I know you don't believe them either."

Rudy shook his head and gave Misty and apologetic smile. "She might be sixteen, but she still has the brains of a six-year old."

Mahri gasped and gave Rudy her meanest look. "Whatever," she added.

Misty smiled and focused her attention on the road. She wanted to lie down and sleep. Even though the quarters of Blaine's yacht were extremely comfortable, she surely wanted to rest on a bed that did not rock side-to-side. While she was used to the ocean, and working in a water-type Pokémon Gym that required she sustained a battle under water pressure, but she was surely not used to trying to sleep while the room she was in moved around at night.

"Maybe we can battle tomorrow, Mahri. We've been on the road for three days and I haven't gotten a good night sleep."

"Ok, but you promise that we'll battle tomorrow, right?"

"Promise."

"Alright."

Gary stared at the two girls for a while until he felt Rudy's eyes staring at him. Rudy began walking slower as he saw his home a few feet away from them. Mahri pulled Misty and made her run inside the house. Gary saw as Misty and Mahri disappeared inside the house. "I heard you and Misty are in deep shit, Gary."

Gary nodded. "Yeah, I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here. We won't be here for long."

"It don't matter to me, you know that. I'm just worried about you guys. You can't keep running away for the rest of your lives."

"We won't. We just need some time to figure out things. No one believes we were set up, but that is just exactly what happened."

"Set up? By who?"

"That's what we are trying to find out. Like I said, we won't be bothering you for long. We are pretty close to find who is after us."

"Do you have any clues?"

"I do, but I rather not say yet. I've gotten six people behind bars because of me. I don't want to add your name to the list."

"Fair enough. Is there anything I can do to help you out?"

Gary shook his head. "Giving us a place to stay is more than enough."

"Well, if it turns out you need a permanent place to stay my home is your home."

Gary nodded. "Thank you, but I'm hoping we can go back home with a clean slate."

"We all do."

Rudy began walking inside the house as Gary followed closely behind. He looked around the place, making sure no one else had followed them. He was glad to reach the entrance and even gladder when he saw Rudy had the same mechanism in his house that Misty and he had installed in the Cerulean Gym. "Building is secure, good night," a robotic voice said over the speakers.

Gary stared at home side of the Gym and could not help to feel nostalgic about the home he had built in Cerulean. The first thing one could see was the spacious living room. There was a dinning room in the back that was surrounded by a double stairway. The chandelier in the middle of the room illuminated the two sides of the second floor. There were doors that Gary could only assume were bedrooms, and they extended to either side of the house. Come to think about it, the design of Rudy's home very much resembled the design of Misty's home.

"You may choose any room you wish. Feel free to walk around the house. The kitchen is in the back of the dinning room. You guys hungry?"

"I'm not. I'm really tired, though."

"I'll let you get comf…"

Mahri, who was already wearing her pajamas and was running down the hall, interrupted Rudy. Rudy shook his head and yelled at her to stop running. She stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eyes. "I'm sleeping in Misty's room tonight. Good night!"

Mahri disappeared down a door on the left side of the hall as Rudy sighed. "I swear she was easier to handle when she was a little girl."

Gary chuckled and patted his friend on the back. "Wait until you start worrying about boys in her life."

Rudy sighed again. "Oh, shit."

"I'm going to bed."

Gary said goodnight to Rudy and went up the stairs. He then knocked on the door Mahri had gone inside of and said goodnight to the both of them. He went inside a room two doors down from Misty's, and almost immediately fell asleep. Rudy remained in the living room. He sat on his couch and turned on the television. He had been closely following Gary and Misty's ordeal but there had not been any news related to the League in the past three days. He knew that neither Misty nor Gary would never do anything like what the League in Kanto was accusing them of doing, but something in the back of his mind still made him doubt: Yet, not enough to be the one who turned them in to the League.

He sighed and changed the channel to watch Trovita's weather channel. The storm they had forecasted was already making its way to the city. They did not expect much damage but it was going to be a long night of rackety-rack.

Rudy was so into the weather map of Trovita that he did not notice the guests behind the couch. "BOO!"

Rudy jumped from the couch and turned around, his hand quickly heading to his Pokémon belt. He saw a smiling Misty and a giggling Mahri behind him. "What the heck is the matter with you? I've told you not to do that!"

"See, Misty? I told you he was easy to scare."

"We are making dinner, Rudy. Do you want something?"

Rudy could not help to stare at Misty like if it was the first time he saw her. She had grown up a lot more, and her now long hair made her face look even prettier to him. Her curves had become more noticeable since the last time he saw her, and she radiated an aura of maturity that he had not been able to see when they first met. He had though that Misty was attractive back then, but now he was just plain gorgeous to him.

"I'll just join you…Mahri can't cook shit."

"Because you aren't supposed to cook it, dumbass."

"Mahri!" Misty began, "That is not a nice thing to say!"

Mahri looked down, ashamed of being scolded by Misty. "I'm sorry."

"That's ok. I just don't want you to hear you talk like that to you brother."

"Ok."

Misty patted Mahri in the back and asked her to lead her to the kitchen. Rudy turned off the television and followed them. The entered the kitchen and Mahri ran to the fridge to take out ham and cheese. She then opened the pantry and got out a loaf of sliced bread. "Do you like sandwiches, Misty?"

Misty nodded. "They taste better when you heat them up, though."

Misty asked her where she could find a pan and began heating it up. She told Mahri she would heat up the ham and the cheese so the cheese would melt on the ham. She grabbed the slices of bread and took them closer to the toaster as she waited for it to heat up. Rudy sat on the table and Mahri did too. Misty kept herself busy cooking a quick meal for the little girl.

"Misty, is Gary your boyfriend?"

Misty chuckled. "Nope, he is just a friend I've known for years."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Not that I know of," Misty replied not bothering to look back, but being able to see Rudy's reaction on the reflection of the stove.

"Is he looking for a girlfriend?"

"Maybe. He is very lonely."

"Do you think he'll want to be my boyfriend?"

"I don't know. He is much older than you are, though. You don't mind dating an old guy like him?"

"Nu-uh, he is cute. A bunch of my friends at school think he is very, very cute."

"Well, if Rudy has no issue, maybe you should ask him out."

"Really?"

"No!" Rudy said.

"Why?"

"NO!" Rudy said, his voice even louder now.

"Please?"

Rudy crossed his arms and glared at Misty. "Don't get ideas in her head, Misty."

"I think those ideas were already in her head."

"Yeah! Wouldn't it be cool? I date Gary and you date my brother!"

Misty chuckled as she finished fixing up the sandwiches and placed them on the table. Rudy stood up and opened the fridge. He pulled out a root bear and an orange-flavored soda. "What do you want, Mist?"

"Water will be just fine."

Rudy closed the fridge and placed the sodas on the table before turning around, opening a cabinet and pulling out a glass. He then walked to the fridge and pressed the glass against the water dispenser. "Ice?"

"No, thanks."

He nodded and finished pouring the water. He placed the glass on Misty's side of the table and joined them for a very late dinner. "This is very good, Misty!"

"Thank you!"

The three of them continued to chow down their food without saying a word until Mahri's cell phone rang. She took it out from her pajama pants and stared at the number. Rudy chewed faster and took a big sip of his root beer to wash down the bite. "Don't tell anyone Gary and Misty are here."

"I won't" Mahri said as she left the room to take the call in the privacy of her room. She waved at Misty before disappearing from sight. Misty continued to eat as she tried to avoid Rudy's stare.

"It's been a long time, Misty."

Misty nodded. "Yeah, so many things have happened since then. I can't believe Mahri is so old now."

"Before we know it, we will both be in our mid-twenties. Sounds about time to start settling down, don't you think?"

Misty took a sip of her water to gain some time to respond. She knew what Rudy had really meant, and she was not ready to deal with this so soon in their visit.

"Not me. I spent the last ten years following around Ash Ketchum. I owe myself time for me."

"What are your plans?"

"Well," she started as she cleaned her mouth with a napkin and began picking up the now empty plates, "Once this mess's cleared up, I'll go to college. I want to be a nurse."

"A Pokémon nurse?"

"No, a regular nurse. I think I'm done with Pokémon."

"It's funny you should say that. I've been thinking about retiring myself too."

"Shit," Misty thought. "What are your plans?"

"I want to be an engineer. I know I'm too old but there is no rush. Mahri has been training a lot and she is very good. I've thinking of leaving the Gym to her."

"Is that what she wants?"

"I haven't talked about it with her, but she loves training Pokémon and she is very eager to learn every battling skill I have in store. I think she would love the idea."

"Perhaps you should run it by her before you make a decision. I had spent my life in a Pokémon gym and wanted to learn everything, but it took me ten years to realize it was not what I wanted to do."

Rudy stood up and grabbed his plate. He walked towards Misty, who was facing the sink as she washed the dishes. He stood behind her and slid the plate underneath her arm, placing his lips really close to ear. "The offer is still up, y'know?"

Misty ignored his closeness and continued to wash the dishes until she finished. She tried to move away from him by sliding to her left but he placed his arm on her way, forcing her to turn around. She did and was given no time to react to Rudy's action.

He kissed her. Misty slowly pushed him away and looked down as Rudy took a deep breath of exasperation. "You still love Ash."

"No."

"What's stopping you, then?"

"The man I love."

"Who is he?"

"He is asleep by now, I think."

Rudy took a step back and scoffed. "So the League was right. You guys are an item."

"We weren't until now. This ordeal has brought is closer. No one would ever do for me what he has done."

"I would."

Misty gave Rudy an apologetic smile. "Perhaps, but it was him who did it. Not you, or Ash, Gary did."

"I like Gary, he is a nice guy. But how long do you think he can pull this off?"

"Until the end."

"And when will that be? The League won't look for you here in the Orange Islands. Why don't you just stay here, with me?"

"Rudy, please don't do this. I don't want to hurt you again."

"You're hurting me already."

Misty sighed as she placed more distance between them. "I'm sorry."

"Me too."

She nodded and exited the kitchen. She stopped at the entrance of the kitchen and without looking back spoke to Rudy one last time. "I love him, more than I ever loved Ash. And if the end is taking our lives to escape the League, so be it."

She stood there for a couple of more seconds before she picked up her pace and headed to her room without every looking back. Her feelings had overwhelmed her so much that she had not seen Gary sitting on the couch in the living room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mahri stood in front of her Dewgong as Misty stood in front of her shiny Gyrados. Mahri knew she had no chance to defeat her, and had already lost the last two battles. She had insisted on battling the last one, for her pride, but now that she saw the Pokémon that Misty had chosen to use, she regretted her decision.

"Are you sure you want to battle, Mahri? I wont go easy on you."

Mahri gulped but kept a straight face. "Give me your best shot, Misty."

"You asked for it!" Misty said. "Gyrados, hyperbeam!"

Misty wanted to end this battle soon. While she was proud of her Pokémon and wanted to enjoy what she believed would be her last Pokémon battle, the memories battling brought to her were too sad for her. Battling Pokémon had brought her to met Ash, meeting Ash had brought her to loving Ash; loving Ash had brought her where she was.

"Dewgong, swim deep!"

Misty did not have to tell her Pokémon what to do. Misty had trained under Gary, and Gary had stressed the importance of teaching a Pokémon how to self-serve. If it had not been for that, Psyduck would have never been able to escape the fire with the pokebelt and save all of Misty's Pokémon on time.

Regardless of Dewgong's efforts, Gyrados' hyperbeam reached its target. A small wave and a few shocks later, a defeated Dewgong floated on the sea of Trovita. Gary raised his hand and called the battle for Misty. Mahri recalled his Pokémon and sighed.

"I guess I need more practice."

"Or you need to train under Gary. He is a freakin' Pokémon Nazi."

Misty chuckled and Gary frowned. "I'm not a Pokémon Nazi," he muttered.

Two days had passed since their arrival to Trovita, and Misty had battled Mahri at least three times. She had been defeated every single time, but Mahri was as stubborn as Ash Ketchum on a sunny day. Yet, Misty had easily defeated her time, after time, after time.

"I'm ready for a break, Mahri. I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh, alright."

Misty recalled her Pokémon and followed Mahri back home. Rudy and Gary followed closely behind, discussing whether to order pizza or Chinese. "I want pizza, Rudy!"

"We had pizza last time, Mahri!"

"Just one more time…please?"

Rudy rolled his eyes, knowing he could not say no to Mahri's eyes. He stopped at the mailbox and took out his mail. Mahri continued to plead and as soon as they reached the house, he picked up the phone and began dialing the pizza place.

"Hi, this is Rudy. Same as usual, please."

Misty, Gary and Mahri sat on the living room, looking for something to watch on television. Rudy was placed on hold to provide payment information and as he did, he began sorting through his mail.

"Bills, junk, bills, more bills…what is this?"

Rudy dropped the rest of the mail on the table and began walking towards Gary. Gary looked up and saw Rudy was holding an envelope in his hands. He grabbed it and read it. Misty could only see the surprise in his eyes.

"It's from Blaine."

"Open it up!"

Rudy finished giving out the payment information to the pizza place and quickly hung up. Mahri moved closer to Gary so she could see what Gary was seeing. He opened the envelope and saw there was a smaller envelope inside. The envelope inside was addressed to Blaine, but it was sent from Indigo Plateau.

The sender was no one else but Ash "Pokémon Master" Ketchum.

He opened the envelope and took out a small piece of paper. He glanced at it quickly before beginning to read aloud.

Hey, loser!

I don't know where the hell you are, but I hope this letter gets to you. I have no way of finding you, so I asked Blaine to deliver this for me. I have news for you.

I checked all the names you told me and found exactly what you had found. I found records for Jake going back to his childhood and school years, and it turns out that Becca Gall went to school with the jerk. Dawn did too, but I haven't asked her anything yet; I don't wanna raise suspicion, y'know. Anyway, she told me that Dawn used to date Jake, and she also gave me his address. I haven't talked to him yet, I want him to think he is off the hook. I am sending you his address just in case.

I also went and spoke to James, and he gave me a lot of information on Emily Dragon. She is the new leader of Team Rocket, but her interest is not the Pokémon black market. I think I know why she is after you, and I would stay hidden if I were you. She is very powerful and can get rid of you in a heart beat. I will take matters into my own hands. Not only because of you, but because it is my duty as the Pokémon Master. She's doing more than cornering you guys. She is fucking up the Pokémon world. Do not, for any reason, let anyone find you. I know where she is, and I am on my way to face her two days from now. I'm sorry I ever doubted you guys. Tell Misty I'm sorry about everything. I played her games, we all did. It is my fault you guys are in so much trouble. If you don't hear from me again…well…good luck.

If something happens to me before I resolve this, you may find copies of all the information I gathered at my place. I sent it to my mom, and she knows it is for you. See you guys later!

Ash Ketchum

P.S. By the way, the reason why we couldn't find Emily Dragon's trace was because four years ago she changed her name. She is now known as Ms. Maya Amherst; the President of the Pokémon League.

A thick silence invaded the Pokémon Gym of Trovita. The criminal had been right in front of them all this time. Misty thought things had been nasty. She had no idea how nasty they were about to get.