I do not own Pokémon.

Chapter Two

New Faces and Old Friends

"Maybe we should just fly out of here," Misty whispered into her friend's ear as quietly as she could.

They were still frozen in the there spot in the mysterious glowing woods. The rustling in front of them grew louder, closer. Pikachu also had a strange feeling considering its cheeks were sparking and its tail pointed high up in the air in defense.

"Pika…" Pikachu growled, looking ready to pounce, but instead waited.

"The trees are pretty high," Ash replied inaudibly. He looked up to see barely any shred of sky above them as the high branches and leaves blocked it.

Ash made no attempt at leaping in the air nor any attempt to call Pikachu back. Both of them including Misty, didn't budge. Instead they bravely waited.

The movement in the hollow before them was now viewable with the sight of shaky leaves and quivering twigs. The glowing orbs gathered at the spot of the noise, casting a blinding light. Behind the light came an innocent giggle.

Upon hearing the soft giggle, Pikachu relaxed. It was not a threat. Still not knowing what was about to emerge, Ash and Misty watched closely.

The orbs of light vanished and in its place was a young girl, with a giddy smile on her face.

"Hi, Pikachu!" she cried in delight.

Pikachu jumped to greet the young girl with mutual pleasure. Cradling the electric rodent in her small hands, the girl flashed a smile in the direction of Ash and Misty. "Hi Ash!"

Ash released a sigh, mopping the sweat that collected on his forehead off. He apparently recognized this blonde girl. "Bonnie…"

Bonnie? Misty thought back at the update she heard from Mrs. Ketchum that Ash had been traveling with three friends that she has yet to meet. Could this Bonnie girl be one of them?

"It's good to see you back!" Bonnie proclaimed with sweet sincerity.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Ash said, finally moving from his spot in front of Misty, making his way towards Bonnie. "What're you doing here anyways?"

"Just playing with some Poképals."

"Really?" Ash asked, his eyes brightening. "Where?"

Before Bonnie had the chance to speak, however, a pink, bird-like Pokemon poked out of the hollow Bonnie emerged from. It was very small and kind of unusual looking. Misty was not familiar with this sort of Pokemon at all. She couldn't tell whether that thing on its face was a nose or a beak?

The creature was, however, very cute and delicate. It flew, gracefully to Ash, saying its hello, "Spritzee!"

"Hi, I'm Ash!" Ash laughed at the Pokemon's gentle welcome. The Spritzee then wandered over to Misty giving it the same sweet greeting as it did to Ash.

"Spritzee!" it said, flapping its tiny pink wings in excitement.

"H—hi," Misty replied, nervously. She was beginning to feel the initial fear she carried wash away, but couldn't shake off the awkwardness in the air.

Spritzee flew over to Bonnie, nestling itself on her shoulder. Bonnie nuzzled the Pokemon with her cheek, before returning her attention to Misty. "Hi!"

Clearing her throat and making her way over to Bonnie, Misty sweetly introduced herself. "Hi there. My names' Misty."

"Nice to meet you, Misty," said Bonnie. "Are you one of Ash's friends?" she went on coolly.

Misty nodded with a smile on her face. "I'm guessing you are too, right?"

"Yep!" Bonnie said. "Hey! You should meet my big brother! I think he'd be happy to meet you, Misty!"

"She'll get to meet him and everybody else," Ash spoke up, Pikachu launched itself onto his shoulder. "Since we ran into you Bonnie, want to come along with us to find the others?"

Bonnie nodded her head and the Spritzee on her shoulder made a cry of agreement.

They all set off through the woods that still had the occasional glowing orbs. This time, though, Misty wasn't so spooked as she was before, since a young girl like Bonnie seemed to have wandered here with no troubles.

But as they ventured forward, Misty's ears still caught the sound of a faint squeal.

"Hey Bonnie?" Misty said as they all walked together.

"Hm?" Bonnie spun around to face Misty, walking backwards.

"Did you hear any sorts of sounds while you've been here?"

"Like what kind of sounds?" Bonnie said, tilting her head to the side in puzzlement.

"Sort of like squealing," Misty finished, shrugging not sure if that was the proper sound she was describing.

"Yeah. Those are the sounds of the fairy Pokémon that live in this forest." Bonnie spun around again, marching in the right direction.

Misty's brows raised. She had never heard of fairy Pokémon. But she glanced to Bonnie's shoulder, realizing that Spritzee wasn't a Pokemon she had ever laid eyes on either.

"Is Spritzee a fairy Pokémon?" Misty implored, fascinated with this new type of Pokemon.

"Uh huh," Bonnie responded. "There are more Spritzee living here, but this one in particular always comes around to play with me.

"I don't think I've ever been near a Fairy type Pokémon before," Misty assumed, thinking of all the Pokemon she had ever come across in her life. She thought back at the Pokemon she saw on her travels through Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto and Hoenn. Even the trainers that challenged her at the gym never had a Fairy type Pokémon.

"Really?" Bonnie turned around once more, this time stopping in astonishment. "They're all over. You surely must've met at least one."

"None I think of," Misty said, a little disappointed in herself. "What Pokemon other than Spritzee are fairies?"

"Hmm…" Bonnie tried to think of the knowledge she had on the type. "I think Azurill is another one and—oh! My big brother has a Dedenne!"

"Azurill?" Misty asked aghast. She had an Azurill back home. Never did she think it was anything other than a plain Water type though. And it didn't seem like anyone around Kanto was aware of it either.

"Yeah! Have you met those before?"

"I actually have one. Any others?"

"Hey where is Dedenne, anyways?" Ash interrupted, seemingly just taking notice in the conversation occurring between the two girls.

"Oh he took a nap after breakfast…" Bonnie said, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "But, have you ever heard of Flabébé?" Bonnie chirped once more, redirecting her focus on Misty.

Misty shook her head, not the least bit familiar with such a weird sounding Pokemon.

"They're so small and super cute!" Bonnie exclaimed. "There are a lot more, but—"

They all stopped in their tracks when the light from the sky above was briefly covered by something flying passed. Looking up, they all saw a large, shiny Togekiss, leading a few Togetic into a nearby tree.

Misty gazed at the beautiful Pokemon and felt her heartstrings tug, momentarily. She reflected on her very own Togetic that she had to part ways with some time ago.

"Togetic are fairies?" she asked, still admiring the family before it disappearing fully into the leaves above.

"Mhm," Bonnie nodded also looking up. "You seem to know those…" Bonnie trailed curiously.

"Y-yeah," Misty hiccupped, then turned her gaze back at Bonnie. "I used to have one."

The long walk through the Fairy Hollow was something Misty really enjoyed. Aside from being educated on all the kinds of fairy Pokemon from Bonnie, Misty got to come across some familiar Pokemon that she never knew were fairies, such as Cleffa and Snubbull.

Reaching the end of the forest, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Bonnie and Spritzee were greeted by the burst of daylight.

Taking a moment for their eyes to readjust, everyone, Pokemon excluded, rubbed their eyes.

They had wandered out to the side of a mountain. Looking up, and seeing how high the peak of the mountain was, Misty deduced that this mountain was the center of Neverland. She briefly recalled seeing the top of the grayish mass when she still had a bird's eye view of the island.

There was the sound of a crashing waterfall and by the mist cloaking the air, slowly drenching them all.

Spritzee had abandoned Bonnie's shoulder and was flying ahead of them, gliding serenely with its tiny wings.

"That sure is a high mountain…" Misty muttered to herself, craning her neck to see the top, which was nearly impossible from where she was standing.

Ash turned to look at his friend and quickly glanced over to the mountain himself. "Yeah. You can see everything up there."

"Like the whole world…" Misty said absentmindedly still stunned with the massive height of the summit.

"Heh, well at least all of Neverland," replied Ash, entertained with Misty's stupor. "Y'know, we can fly up there and you can see for yourself."

Misty sweat dropped, not liking the idea of ascending an alp that tall. She was especially still a tad hesitant about flying.

"I—I think I'm okay for now, heh," Misty sputtered trying to cover up her apprehension. "So…where are we headed?" Misty changed the subject, now deeply curious to know where they were going.

"We're going to meet up with everyone," Ash answered, walking forward, abandoning the talk of flying up the mountain.

"Who exactly is everyone?" asked Misty. She presumed that she would meet Bonnie's brother, like she mentioned earlier but didn't know if everyone meant more people she didn't know or more unusual Pokemon.

"Just a bunch of our friends," Bonnie chirped.

Continuing to trek alongside the massive summit, they reached another clearing that lead to what appeared to a jungle. As they disappeared inside, the mist of the falls were no longer able to soak them.

By contrast, the jungle they were now weaving through had much more space and light. And there were noises, but none that were unusual or supernatural like that of the Fairy Hollow.

"Not much further," Ash stated, looking ahead resolutely. Apparently they were headed for another clearing, which they approached. The closer they went Misty was able to become of the sounds of indistinct chatter. The voices likely belonged to boys.

Ducking under a couple of low branches and pulling away any vines in their path, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Bonnie and Spritzee finally emerged to a spot in that looked like a campsite.

There were no tents or sleeping bags, but there was a fire pit, which held a pot of something stewing. Satchels and backpacks did scatter the jungle floor, though. There were definitely people staying here.

Upon entering the campsite, Misty finally got a glimpse of the boys whom the voices belonged to. Altogether, being left to their own devices, there was a total of six boys here; two of which Misty had never met, and the remaining four were familiar faces.

"It's Brock!" Misty exclaimed happily, pointing to the more mature looking tan boy stirring the pot. A willowy green haired boy that Misty did no recognize was assisting Brock.

Spinning around she noticed a much younger boy, probably around Bonnie's age, wearing glasses and watching an older, blond boy, also wearing glasses. The blond one was tinkering with some sort of machinery, which to Misty's surprise was available in a jungle on some far off island.

"Max is here too, I see," Misty concluded, eyeing the young boy with glasses.

"He's with my big brother, Clemont!" Bonnie chimed in, pointing at the blond boy. Misty stared at Clemont for a moment, noticing the resemblance he and Bonnie shared.

"Hey Ash. Hey Bonnie." A voice that Misty knew too well spoke up, greeting her two companions.

Tracey was the first to be aware of their arrival and once he received simultaneous "Hey Tracey", he looked over to Misty with a friendly grin.

"How's it going Misty? Good to see you here!"

Misty returned Tracey's welcome with an awkward smile. She and Tracey were very good friends, having traveled together before and since he would make frequent visits to the Cerulean Gym. She was beginning to feel as though she saw Tracey everywhere she went. Barely a couple of hours have passed when she just saw him with the show at the gym, and Misty was amazed to see him in Neverland the same time as her.

"Hi there, Tracey," Misty waved a little. She couldn't help but wonder how he managed to get to Neverland, unless he knew about it for a while. "How did you—?"

"Looks like Ash finally wrangled you out of the gym, eh?" sneered a voice from out of nowhere.

A brunette boy then leapt down from the tree above, landing lordly right in front of Ash, Misty, Bonnie and Tracey. This boy Misty was pretty familiar with, and so was Ash…

"What'd you mean by that Gary?" Misty scoffed, her ears becoming hot.

Gary cocked a brow, his arms crossed, shrugging slightly. "Oh, nothing really. Just…"

"Just what?" Ash snapped, becoming a little irritated. But that was nothing new. Gary had a skill when it came to getting under people's skin. Especially when it came to Ash Ketchum.

"Just that no one ever gets to see you that's all," Gary finished, not sounding as rude as before. "I don't mean anything bad by it." Gary's words did hold some sincerity into it. Though Ash was easily over it (he was always the forgiving type), Misty still felt a bit of edge between them. She did like Gary as a person, even admired him for his extensive Pokémon knowledge. But he had a tendency to let his ego overshadow his likable qualities.

Trying not to come off peeved, Misty took a deep breath, and replied as calmly as she could muster. "I've been meaning to take some time away from the gym."

Gary couldn't resist, "I guess we should all thank Ash for rescuing you from the Pokémon trainers." He started chuckling; he was the only one.

Misty felt her whole head warm up in both fury and embarrassment. She side eyed Ash, before dipping her head down, flustered.

"No matter how you got here, it's always great to see you, Misty!" Brock had walked over, ending the sly taunting. The green haired boy was still near the fire pit, adding a few what looked to be spices into the pot, boiling.

Misty's head perked up when she heard the kind reassurance from Brock, one of her oldest friends. "Thanks, I'm happy to see you too. It's been a while." Misty was no longer flustered about Gary's teasing. Gary didn't seem fazed either by Misty's now composed and happy demeanor. He still had a smirk on his face though.

"You guys came just in time," Brock explained. "Cilan and I are almost finished preparing for lunch."

"Yummy!" Bonnie cheered. "What are we having?" she dared to ask, her eyes staring up at Brock and her mouth watering.

"Surprise stew," Brock answered plainly. "Cilan and me have been experimenting with some recipes and decided to combine our specialties into one."

"Great, because I'm starved!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing onto his stomach, which then gurgled in desire. He hopped off in delight, now floating once more, meeting up with Cilan at the fire pit.

Everyone else walked over to the pot of Surprise Stew, which Cilan was now stirring. Bonnie ran over to her brother and Max, grabbing Clemont's attention in particular, pulling him with all the strength her small body had.

Dragging her older brother over to the gang, more particularly to Misty, Bonnie eagerly introduced Clemont to the red haired gym leader.

"Big brother this is Misty, Ash's friend!"

Clemont flashed a warm smile at Misty, introducing himself at last. "Nice to meet you, Misty. I'm Clemont."

"Same here," Misty said equally as warm as Clemont.

"Now that you two are both here," Bonnie began quickly and loudly. "I want to ask you something Misty."

Clemont looked down at his sister, with his brows raised as if he knew what she was going to ask.

"Okay," Misty replied, plainly, giving Bonnie her complete attention.

"Would you be interested in being Clemont's wi—" Bonnie began to say, but her older brother hastily clasped his hand over Bonnie's mouth muffling her words.

"Bonnie!" Clemont scolded sheepishly. "I've told you to stop doing that!" Bonnie managed to free herself from her brother's hold and tried to ask once more.

"Would you marry my br—"

"I think lunch is ready!" Clemont screeched trying to garble his younger sister's words, while pulling her gently away from everybody. He let out a huff, "Sisters…"

"Tell me about it…" Max agreed, having witnessed the scene unfold.

Misty agreed silently. Well, at least when it came to older sisters. She had a bit of a soft spot when it came to younger siblings, considering she was one. Misty thought Bonnie's behavior was innocent and therefore, didn't feel any differently of her. She chuckled; feeling a little embarrassed herself. Even though Clemont managed to silence his sister twice (tried to at least), Misty was aware of what Bonnie was trying to ask. Now she understood Bonnie's excitement at introducing Clemont. Despite feeling embarrassed, Misty did find Bonnie endearing.

After everyone else shared an awkward silence (out of respect for Clemont who was flushing red in the face), they all gathered around the fire pit in a small circle.

Cilan was serving up the stew in bowls and once everyone, including Clemont and Bonnie, they all began to dig in.

The stew was delicious. Misty didn't expect anything less than so when it came to Brock's cooking. And this Cilan boy clearly had some culinary skills as well.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we met before," Cilan said after a moment. "My name is Cilan."

"Misty, pleased to meet you," Misty answered. "This stew really is great. You and Brock did an amazing job."

"Thank you, Misty," Cilan said with glee in his eyes. "I think this experiment turned out successful, with the help of Brock, of course."

"Thanks, but I think you deserve the credit more," Brock said modestly. "You had more influence on the stew than I did."

"Hey Misty," Gary said suddenly, giving Misty a weird look.

Misty turned to face Gary who was sitting by Tracey. "Yeah?"

"What's with the PJs?" Gary asked, his brow rose.

"Um—" Misty sputtered. Her face was beginning to flush like Clemont's face did earlier. She forgot that she had arrived on the island in her sleepwear. But in her defense she was already in bed when Ash made his surprise visit, leaving her no time to change clothes. "Well, I was in bed—then Ash dropped by."

"I like your pajamas!" Bonnie said, sweetly. "I really think the blue looks great on you and…" Bonnie gave her brother a cheeky smile. "I think it brings out the color of your eyes, right Clemont?"

"Bonnie…" Clemont breathed harshly, looking down at his bowl.

Misty barely noticed Bonnie's compliment and her attempt at getting Clemont to woo Misty with flattery. Gary's notice in her wearing her pajamas made her realize what the others were wearing. Everyone was wearing unusual garbs of clothing. Their style was not normal?

Judging by what her friends normally wore and how they were all dressed now, it was like night and day. She already observed Ash's attire earlier and found that everyone else had the same type of clothing that Ash had on.

The clothing they were wearing had a very anachronistic, fantasy feel to it. She couldn't quite define what their style was. Feeling conscious of this, Misty actually thought she was the only one who wore normal clothing.

Her observation was disrupted though, to the sound of snorting and loud slurps. Everyone diverted their eyes to the culprit of the piggish noise: Ash.

Ash apparently was clueless to the conversations going on around him. He just scooped the stew in large spoonful portions, gulping grossly. "T-this i—is some greea…great stew, huh Pika..chu..mmm…"

His words were unintelligible. Ash was holding his bowl close to his face, slurping loudly once more before setting it down, emptied and licking his lips in satisfaction.

Wiping his mouth clean with the back of his gloved hand, Ash then realized his friends staring in slight disgust at him. Misty shook her head, glad to know she wasn't the only who thought Ash could learn better table manners.

Ash blinked at everyone in confusion before imploring, "What's up guys?"

"Gee, Ash the way you horsed that stew down, it would seem as if you hadn't had anything to eat all morning," Max observed, no longer in the mood to consume the rest of his helping.

"Which is not true, considering you did have a big breakfast," Gary noted.

"Well, I did fly to Cerulean City and back, Gary," Ash sniped, once again feeling heated at Gary's comment, remaining ignorant to the fact that Max spoke up earlier.

"It's fine," Cilan said nervously, trying to break the tension that built up in a wink. "There's plenty more for seconds."

"Great, because I'm going for a second bowl," Ash said, diving for the pot of stew and scooping more into his bowl.

"Anyways," Brock said casually. "How's it been at the gym, Misty?" Everyone had now resumed eating, though; Max was still a little hesitant.

"It's been fine," Misty said after swallowing another spoonful. "It has been stressful lately…"

Brock gave Misty a curious look. "Why's that?"

"Well…my sisters…" Misty sighed. "They put up a show at the gym and as usual I got cornered into helping out."

"Oh, how are your sisters by the way," Brock asked, more intrigue lodged in his tone at the mention of the Sensational Sisters.

Misty rolled her eyes; she figured as much. Brock was just the same as always, perking up whenever pretty girls were mentioned. "They're the same as always," Misty said plainly.

"You have sisters, Misty?" Bonnie asked suddenly.

Clemont gave a sheepish huff, sweat collecting on his brows. "I'm done eating."

After lunch, everyone jumped right into their separate activities. The Spritzee that Bonnie befriended stuck around for Gary and Tracey to observe. Clemont was once again tinkering with his latest invention (no one knew what it was yet), with the help of his Pokémon, Chespin. His Dedenne finally made its appearance sometime in the middle of lunch and joined Bonnie on another jaunt through Fairy Hollow ("Be careful Bonnie!" Clemont shouted).

Max sought some privacy in the tree house that Misty did not notice earlier. She had yet a chance to enter, but it was rather spacious from the massive size she saw below. And Cilan and Brock were having a tea break, chatting away.

And that just left Misty, Ash and Pikachu. Misty had a lovely time chatting and getting to know Cilan and Clemont, as well as catching up with everyone else.

"So Misty how about we take flight again?" Ash quizzically asked Misty with a grin. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"We just ate," Misty pointed out.

"So?" Ash said.

Misty sighed. Ash was not going to quit and she did get her way earlier, getting to explore some of Neverland on foot. But, considering how sprawled out this island was, Misty had to admit that Ash was right when he said it would be faster to explore by flying.

Ash stared at her with hopeful eyes, waiting for her response. Misty shrugged and answered, "Okay."

"Yes!" Ash cheered, leaping into the air and remaining there.

"But!" Misty shouted up at him. "Not so fast, alright?"

With an eye roll from Ash, he grumbled in agreement, rather begrudgingly. Ash then lowered himself, hovering over the ground by barely an inch just close enough to take Misty's hand and guide her through their flight.

Once in the air, Misty let go of Ash's hand, realizing that she was now floating on her own and with ease. Now the trick was flying, and without hitting any of the foreboding trees that were planted on practically every square inch of the island.

Ash flew higher; Misty following and then called out to his friends below. "I'm going to take Misty to the lagoon and show her around."

All of Ash's friends looked up and waved, giving him their confirmation that they heard.

Ash beckoned his head to the side, gesturing to follow him. Misty soon glided behind her friend and carefully but not as slow as she was when they first left her bedroom. Her friend did soar like a pro but not as fast as before, checking over his shoulder to make sure Misty was still in pursuit.

Finally much higher, Misty was beginning to get the hang of flying. It was becoming slightly easier, as long as she was zooming straight ahead; she was fine. Or so she thought.

Getting distracted by a flock of Wingull, Misty turned her to watch them in awe. But when she looked forward again, she was close to colliding with a massive tree branch. Misty instinctively put her hands up in front of her to suppress the crash, but couldn't slow down.

Luckily, Ash pulled her out of the way just in time. "Careful, Mist."

Ash decided it was better to rise above the trees altogether, giving Misty no opportunities to crash into anything. Even with them flying above the jungle, their view was still obscured by the towering vegetation.

After a few minutes of traveling through the air, Ash, Misty and Pikachu appeared above a beautiful, secluded lagoon, which drained into a dark cavern. They all hovered for a bit as Ash introduced Misty to the lagoon's natural beauty. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Misty couldn't agree more. Being a lover of water Pokémon and spending most her life in tanks and pools, a lagoon (after the ocean) was the next best thing. Her mind then began swimming with thoughts of all the water Pokémon that might be living there. And after her experience in the Fairy Hollow, she was eager to see if she would find water types she had never seen before.

The lagoon itself wasn't that big, remaining connected to the ocean by a thin current. But the rest of the lagoon was likely hiding in the cave, which was covered by waterfall veil. The water was very blue, like that of the sky right when the sun has set completely. The water swaying peacefully and the waterfall wasn't crashing down as loud as the one near the mountain. The whole setting was very tranquil and only got more serene when Misty caught a glimpse of what looked to be…mermaids!

Misty coulnd't resist the thought of meeting one. If there was any sort of mythical entity that she wished to meet, it was a mermaid.

"So there are mermaids here," Misty said, staring at what appeared to be three swimming and flashing their glittering, scaly fins. Misty was completely enamored with the scene below her, she ached for a closer look.

Ash and Pikachu watched as Misty dreamily stared off into the lagoon. Quickly sharing a look, Ash grabbed Misty's attention. "C'mon let's go meet them."

"Really?" Misty asked perplexed.

"Yeah, they're my friends," Ash noted simply and began to descend with Pikachu on his shoulder.

Following Ash and Pikachu, Misty began to lower herself close to the water, and then on the bedrock that Ash settled his feet upon.

"Ash's here!" One mermaid called in excitement, the other mermaids gasping and swimming to the bedrock where Ash and Misty stood. Ash and Misty both took a seat, taking a close look at the mermaids.

Misty was surprised to see that the mermaids had one familiar face. The other two, Misty couldn't recognize. But the mermaid that Misty believed she had seen before had short brown hair and blue eyes.

"May?" Misty whispered in astonishment. May, Max's older sister and Ash's traveling buddy during his travels in Hoenn.

May apparently heard Misty's faint voice say her name as she turned no longer smiling at Ash but had a look of stoicism at Misty.

Well this was different… Misty and May had always gotten along and to see May greet her with a dull look, made Misty feeling a little awkward. "Uh—nice to see you again—" Misty stammered, trying to shield her unease.

"It's a surprise to see you here," May said, dully.

The other mermaids weren't as welcoming, which only made Misty feel even weirder. One of them had hair as blue as the lagoon itself and the last one had long dirty blonde hair and looked the least bit welcoming out of the three. She didn't hesitate glowering at Misty who hadn't even said a thing to her.

Misty felt disappointment flooding her body. She never wanted her encounter with mermaids to be this uncomfortable. She hoped for the opposite; getting the chance to ask them questions and maybe even swim with them. But now Misty felt her childhood dream drain into that lagoon, which no longer held any beauty to it.

"This is Misty," Ash said, oblivious to the tense exchange between the girls. He was speaking directly to the blue haired and blonde mermaids. "Misty this is Dawn," he introduced the blue haired one with a gesture of his hand. "And this is Serena." The blonde mermaid broke her gaze for a moment when Ash said her name; her eyes softening and her cheeks turning into a shade of pink.

Hmph, that's why… Misty thought to herself, assuming that her presence was not welcomed because of the mermaids' interest in Ash.

"Where've you been, Ash?" piped up Dawn in intrigue.

"I flew to Cerulean City," Ash began to explain. "To bring Misty." Ash flashed a smile at his vexed friend who had her knees huddled to her chest.

Misty exhaled through her nostrils, too annoyed to even brighten up at Ash's kind smile. May and Dawn scoffed when Misty's name was mentioned, only angering Misty even more.

Misty held tightly to her knees, looking away from the two mermaids, but then her eyes locked on Serena's baleful stare. Serena's face was now crimson with envy.

Misty did not look away this time. She shot back with a glare, not feeling intimidated by this jealous mermaid.

Pikachu had been witnessing the strain between Misty and Serena and tugged at Ash's hat to get him to put an end to it. "Pikapi!"

"Hm?" Ash's eyes wandered over the stare down between the girls, feeling a disturbance erupt in his stomach. He didn't understand why there was tension but felt the responsibility to cut in but—

A massive shadow had cast over the lagoon, darkening almost everything in sight. Everyone looked around to see where the eclipse was coming from and upon hearing some loud jeering, the mermaids fled underwater in fright.

Misty poked her head out of her knees, curious and worried about what was happening or better yet what was approaching. Ash's face was twisted in anxiety, his eyes narrowed. He leapt to his feet, cupping an ear to listen closely. The jeering was coming from afar, and by the look on Ash's face, they did not sound good.

"What's that noi—mph!" Misty's words became muffled due to Ash's hand covering her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock at Ash's reaction.

The jeering sounded louder, then came the sound of canons shooting in the distance associated with indistinct Pokémon cries.

Ash kept his hand in Misty's face, listening closely to whether the sounds were closing in on the lagoon. But after a moment, Ash not wanting to take a risk at the approaching threat, whispered to Pikachu and Misty. "It's them."

Who? Misty remained quiet even after Ash removed his hand.

"C'mon let's fly out of here," Ash instructed, gently grasping Misty's wrist, pulling her into the air.

And as they took flight, all three of them got a glimpse of what was beyond the lagoon and into the open ocean: a pirate ship.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: So next chapter, Hook finally gets his debut. And I wanted to mention that the adaptations of Peter Pan that I am going off of are the Disney version and the live action movie from 2003. But I am trying to put my own spin on things while trying to blend the universe with Pokemon.

Some quick clarifications, Ash's male friends are filling the role(s) of the Lost Boys. Bonnie is a mix of a Lost Girl and the younger siblings, Michael and John. The mermaids were May, Dawn and Serena. And I tried to make everyone in character as possible while also trying to have them fit the roles they are portraying, so forgive me for having the mermaids be mean (that's how they always were in Peter Pan) to Misty. This story mostly follows her and Ash anyways. As for Tinkerbell, well I had to tweek that role a bit. Tinkerbell is Pikachu, because its's Ash's best friend. But I can never imagine Pikachu acting jealous and cruel to Misty like Tink is to Wendy.

And lastly, reviews are welcomed! I'd love to hear your feedback!