A/N: I sincerely apologize for being off the radar for so long with this one. A lot of stuff at work came up as well as Otakon 2014 and I started another fic. Aside those, anime binging has become a recurring problem (that I don't mind at all) and the sudden influx of music-related stuff. Overall, it's been quite the busy summer and hopefully things start to wind down here in a bit, but I make no promises.

Chapter 12: Blue Water Town

-Mt. Moon, East Entrance-

October 7th, 2007 – 11:00 AM

Loud rustling could be heard from the tall trees as flocks of pidgey and spearow flew skyward into the blazing sun, shining brightly overhead. Leaves and branches fell from the sky onto the ground making a rather loud round of clunks. Among the pile of branches that fell, one of them fell onto a sleeping yellow mouse, which slept under the tall tree.

'OW!' Pikachu yelled, rubbing his head between his pointed ears. He looked at the branch that fell on him and tossed it to the side, mumbling something about hating trees. Picking himself up, he dragged his small body over to a sleeping red-capped teenager. He placed his two paws onto the sleeping bag and gently shook him.

'Hey, Ash, it's time to get up!'

The raven-haired teenager didn't budge a single inch; rather, he couldn't due to being pinned down by a couple of sleeping female teenagers. Pikachu stifled a laugh, which surprisingly woke up the redheaded female trainer. She let out a stiff yawn and slowly opened her eyes to the intense sunlight. She moved her hands from the sprawled out position they were in, only to feel something beneath her.

"What the…" She looked down and saw a red vest. Quicker than lightning, she jumped off, completely forgetting her injuries from the previous night. All of the pain resurfaced the moment she left the ground and only intensified as she hit the ground.

"AHH, GODDAMIT! THIS FUCKING HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER!"

Everyone woke up instantly, besides Leaf (who was witnessed sleeping through a hurricane, apparently), to the scream. Brock and Ash lept to their feet, tossing Leaf next to the downed Misty, with Ash tumbling over in the same manner as Misty.

"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! THIS HURTS LIKE HELL!" Ash screamed louder than Misty. This was enough to wake Leaf up, who slowly opened her eyes to a group of people and pokemon jumping in every direction.

"Huh? What's going on?" she asked. She spotted Ash and Misty sprawled out on the ground, cringing in pain. She instinctively ran over to Ash to help him up. Brock was already over at Misty's side.

"You know, it would be awesome if you could just move as little as possible until we get to Cerulean. I really don't want to carry you on my back…" Brock sighed. Misty became even more cross.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT, YOU RAT BASTARD?!" she waved her fists at him, again forgetting she's injured, "YOOOOW!"

"Seriously, you need to stop moving around too much; you're only going to slow down your recovery. Just sit still and only move if you have to…and don't move too quickly, either. And no, I wasn't calling you fat. You're hardly even considered thin."

"SO I'M FAT?!"

"DIDN'T I JUST FINISH SAYING YOU WEREN'T?! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS, WOMAN!" Brock yelled, finally losing his cool. Misty finally piped down, although she was still internally fuming. "Now then, shall we eat a little before heading out?"

Brock decided to cook up his favorite stew, using ingredients his mother conveniently packed inside the transformable cooler. He threw in some beef stock, carrots, potato, onions, and several spices and herbs. He stirred the contents for a little while before taking out a frying pan and tossing in some sirloin filets, pre-marinated with soy sauce, garlic powder, and red wine. After, he cut up the beef and threw them into the stew and stirred it around some more until it came out a thick brown with pieces of the above ingredients. One could smell the flavor from a mile away.

"Oh god, that smells good!" Ash slobbered like a growlithe, instantly losing himself in dreamland. Misty, who was sitting next to him, reach over and held his jaw closed…to prevent any more of the slobber dripping out.

"Hey, Odie. You're leaking," Misty flatly said, still obviously irked by Brock's earlier comments. Leaf, who sat on the other side of Ash, took a napkin out of her bag to wipe the drool that had collected on Ash's chin.

"I swear sometimes you amaze me, Ash…" Leaf mused while still wiping the excess drool from the slobbering, red-capped teenager. Brock, who was just about to announce the serving of lunch, looked back and saw the scene. His mood soured quite a bit.

"Damn kid…always gotta make it look like a harem why don't yah?" he seethed, most likely in envy rather than hatred. He quickly regained composure as fast as he lost it.

"Ahem. Alright, guys. Lunch is served." Ash, Misty, Leaf, Pikachu, and Wigglytuff stood up and dashed for the stove, almost knocking it over. They each scooped a scoopful of stew, along with a piece of baguette Brock conveniently bright pre-sliced. The five returned to their seats on the ground and ate in silence, listening to the soft chirps of the forest animals and the light rustle of the wind blowing through the trees. It was calming, eating in blissful ignorance as the day passed by. The tranquil scene was intoxicating; there was no one around for miles (at least no one they knew about).

Soon, they were about finished with their relaxing meal. Leaf and Brock took the empty bowls and walked a bit to find a stream near the campsite. They decided to wash their bowls there where they saw various Nidoran crowding around to drink.

"Ahhh, pokemon…" Brock happily sighed, "there's nothing else I want to do but take care of them."

"I guess that's why you take care of your brothers and sisters so diligently," Leaf mused.

"Yeah, I treat pokemon like they are my younger siblings. Of course, not many people see it that way, but that's what separates a Trainer from a Breeder. I never did like battling, but ran the gym only to help out if my parents weren't there. I know my dad was gone researching half the day, so I usually ended up taking the morning battle shifts, while my dad took the evenings. I felt bad for putting Onix and Geodude through all of that. Anyways, I think we need to wash the dishes or the stains will stick."

"Yeah, let's do that."

Five minutes of relentless scrubbing, lathering, and rinsing passed as Brock and Leaf hauled the dishware back to the campsite where they found Ash and Misty sleeping with their backs to one another. Leaf, with an inherent scowl, marched over to Ash and violently pinched his cheek.

"YOWWWW!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as his eyes shot open. He frantically looked around for the culprit until he found a person in front of him, knocking Misty forward. She let out a sharp yell of pain as she hit the ground. Leaf had both her hands on her hips, glaring down at the trainer. She leaned in and grinned rather evilly.

"Did you have a nice nap?" she smugly said.

"…sure…but why the hell did you pinch me?"

"Because I felt like it. Now, it's time to head to Cerulean City. We'll be there if we walk for the next 6 hours." Leaf went over to Misty to help her up from the ground.

"Here, Brock," she commanded as she handed Misty over, "you can support her while I support Ash." Brock glared (well, he was glaring behind the slits which are supposedly eyes) back at Leaf. He knew what was going on.

"No. You can support Misty while I support Ash. That way, we'll all be relatively nice to each other. Got it?"

"…yes…"

"Good. Now let's get going." The six of them made their way back to the path and towards the city.

-Route 4-

There wasn't much difference between the western and eastern sides of the mountain. In fact, one could say they could be on their way back to Pewter. The path wound back and forth between valleys and mountains, but overall went downhill. Eventually, they came across a river, which the path followed for quite some time. As they went further downriver, the river got wider to the point where one could consider it a small, but long lake. The flow slowed from a moving torrent to almost a stand-still. The sunshine glistened off the water's surface, painting dancing white spots of light on the trunks of the surrounding trees. If one looked at the other side of the lake, one could see an entrance to a cave.

The route itself had a ledge that the group had to climb down to get to the riverside. Brock and Leaf had their work cut out for them, as they decided to give Ash and Misty piggyback rides while climbing down Brock's climbing rope. This ledge had a 20 foot drop, and no normal person would dare jump from it. They looked further up the hill to find a lone girl sitting there, meditating. Ash would've gone to talk to her, only he could barely move himself. They all decided to press on.

Amazingly, the area was devoid of pokemon, trainers, and other travelers, which worked well in their favor as Ash and Misty couldn't deal with stopping for any distractions. It would look kind of silly to battle in bandages, let alone moving around in a limp battle stance, not that it affected Ash's determination anyways.

Eventually, the path finally split from the river (which headed north according to PokeMaps) and they saw the first signs of civilization: a neighborhood to the south. Ash and Misty were now supporting themselves with walking sticks which they found a couple of miles back, walking at a much slower pace than normal. The path slowly transitioned from being a wide dirt trail to paved asphalt, something Ash and Misty were thankful for.

"…how much further 'til we get to the hospital?" Ash moaned and groaned.

"…based on where we are, it's another couple hours 'til we hit the medical center," Misty moaned back.

"Where's that?"

"According to PokeMaps, it's on the east side of downtown which is about 3 miles away, so we've got a while to walk," Leaf pointed out on her phone, which was amazingly still running on over half the battery.

"Once we get onto the street, I think it's best if we call a taxi," Brock suggested.

"Who's forking the fare?" Ash questioned, realizing he didn't have any cash.

"Well Ash and I don't have cash, and we don't have much on our cards… sooo…" Leaf trailed off hoping for a response from the other two. Brock sighed.

"Misty, do the taxis here take credit card?"

"I'm not sure. I've never ridden in one. My parents always drove me around. Lemme check." Misty pulled out her phone, which was a Silph Argus 970M running the ever-growing popular SilphOne OS. Designed as a "bigger-screened" alternative to the Barlin PokeGear series and its system, pOS, SilphOne OS boasted an open source platform that freed it up for modifications and customization, whereas the pOS was made to run as effectively and efficiently as it is, which also made it very secure (it's also very "pretty"). Barlin systems were the standard cellphone for most established corporations and government operations, whereas newer startups and "cutting-edge" technological companies adopted Silph systems. Opinions on each divided the consumer market. This effectively started a "brand war" between the two companies, which Leaf was all too familiar with.

"Yeah, taxis here take credit card."

"Cool. Yeah, Pewter only takes cash…so I've heard, not that I've had to take a taxi or anything…" Brock trailed off nervously. He ended it with a weary chuckle and scratching his check with a single hand. Misty and Leaf picked up on the implications while Ash, dense as ever, genuinely believed that he had never ridden a taxi.

"Didn't know you were the type…" Misty commented with a rather disappointed tone.

"Hey, I had some rough days!"

"And your parents know about it?"

"Well, my dad's usually there with me. So we both've had the taxi experience…hehe…" Suddenly, hanging out with him didn't seem like a wise idea, Leaf and Misty thought.

"I'd say let's keep him away from 8th Street. I don't want to take care of him," Misty scoffed.

"Yeah, agreed," Leaf agreed. Ash was still confused.

"Wait! I still don't get what you guys are talking about!" Leaf and Misty shook their heads at the same time.

"You'll get there, Ash," Leaf sighed in shame, "you'll get there…"

-Cerulean City – Western Gate-

6:00 PM

"Well, this is my home," Misty pointed out, "home to 800,000 people I could care less about…"

"Why do you say that?"

"It's like I'm destined to run the family business. I really don't want to. My sisters and my mother expect that out of me, even though my sisters are more than capable of running it by themselves." Brock nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from," he agreed. After all, he felt like he was in tune with what Misty was going through; he was in the same boat until he left. "After all, I was a Co-Gym Leader for the Pewter Gym whilst researching at my Dad's lab. I wanted to be a Pokemon Breeder, but I don't think my parents realized it. I guess someday, the Gym Leader torch will be passed on to my younger brother, Forrest. He looked pretty interested in gym battling. I guess we'll have to wait until he's 15 to find out. Then, he'll have to go through the Gym Leader Program like I did."

"Ahhh, so that's what Mom was talking about…" Misty quietly muttered to herself. Brock had apparently heard the tail end of the statement.

"D'Yah say something?" Misty looked up at Brock and realized her tongue slippage. Ash and Misty weren't supposed to know, so if Brock blabs, she could be in quite a pickle. Misty did not want the attention that revolved around being a gym leader, or the family of a gym leader. Brock was able to cope due to his family holding a large influence over the city, thus everyone knowing the entire family. Misty's family had a smaller role, and was not as well-known. It was a larger city, after all.

"Well, let's go ahead and call a taxi. I think I can find the number," Brock suggested. He pulled out his PokeGear and called the taxi service, based in downtown. According to them, the nearest taxi to the Cerulean City Western Gate was five minutes away. Luckily, the trail-way had benches on this stretch for travelers just coming into town. They sat down on the benches, glad to have earned a break from walking for five-and-a-half hours straight. Pikachu and Wiggytuff were considering retreating into their balls (more so Wigglytuff than Pikachu; he'd never touch a pokeball even if it meant his life), so they curled up next to each other on the grass next to the resting teens. A yellow cab drove up to the turnaround in front of the teens.

"Alright, guys," Brock called out, "it's time to head out." Ash and Leaf woke up Pikachu and Wigglytuff, both who were not pleased about having their naptime interrupted.

'So much for beauty rest,' Pikachu grumbled.

'At least you got to sleep with me. Be grateful,' Wigglytuff grumbled back, totally aware of the double entendre. It took a second for Pikachu to catch on. His face soured at the thought.

'Could you not make this sound pervy? It's really weird and creepy.'

'So you don't want to sleep with me? Is it 'cuz I got fatter?' she complained whilst smirking on the inside.

'Oh c'mon!' Pikachu threw his head back in agitation. He was definitely not used to being provoked like this, 'Not with that attitude, I'm not!' Wigglytuff stayed silent after that. They all hoped into the yellow taxi that was waiting for them and drove off into the city, with Brock taking the front seat, of course, and Ash stuffed in the middle of Leaf and Misty. Neither of the two girls seemed opposed to the idea.

For a city of over 800,000 people, they seemed to be on the less dense side. It was almost a mile when they reached the freeway, known as the Cerulean Loop. It wasn't necessarily a large freeway, having only three lanes in each direction. As a matter of fact, there weren't as many cars that drove beneath them as they saw in Pewter. There was also the difference of this freeway entirely concrete whereas Pewter's system was entirely asphalt.

The taxi continued down what was known as Common Boulevard; it quickly widened from a turnaround, to a four-lane undivided road, to a six-lane urban divided highway once they passed the Loop. Small buildings began to sprout out of the ground, as well as more densely packed neighborhoods until they reached another freeway three miles in. This was a much busier freeway with five lanes on each side and a plethora of cars zooming to and from the destinations they headed. Strangely, Ash noticed that all the freeways ran underneath them and never over them. No one could explain to him why.

The buildings past that big freeway suddenly shot up through the sky. These were 600-700 feet tall buildings that make up the central core of Cerulean City. These blue-glassed towers gave Cerulean City the nickname "Blue Water Town" as they reflected the sunlight onto the street and gave the entire core a blue tint, no matter the angle, giving the effect of the entire core swimming underwater.

They saw the street they were driving down paralleled the path they took to walk here. Unlike Pewter City or Viridian City, Cerulean City had a dedicated "parkway" for the path into the city. Surrounding the sides of the path were 20 to 30 feet of greenery, park benches every half mile or so, and trash cans and light posts. Every mile or so would include a large park with manmade lakes and recreational activities. The path was also terraced and hilled to encourage the feeling of still being out on the trail. This was often the place where families would go out for lunches and recreation. This was known as the "Cerulean Greenway Project."

As the taxi turned north onto 4th Street E, they all noticed a dense complex of medical buildings and offices, numbering in the high 40's. This was the Cerulean Medical Center, known as the largest medical center in the Kanto Region.

"Alright, this is the Cerulean Medical Center. Your total will be $23," the taxi driver robotically said with a very strange accent no one knew about. Brock handed him $30 with the tips.

"Okay, is your doctor here, Misty?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, he's over in that building," Misty pointed to the tall, glassed building. It seemed to be just recently built.

"Good, let's get going before they close on us."

"I think he may have already left. Let me call him." Misty drew out her phone and dialed her doctor. Three rings and the line finally picked up.

"This is Dr. Ichijo speaking."

"Hi, this is Misty Waterflower speaking."

"Oh, Misty! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"So I was involved in a mountain-climbing accident on Mt. Moon and I and another person may need medical attention."

"Wait, where are you?"

"I'm standing right outside your office building."

"Wait, what? You walked all the way here? Get checked into Cerulean General and tell them that Dr. Ichijo will be waiting for both of you." With that, he hung up.

"So yeah, we're going to that building over there," she pointed out to an even larger building. They all walked into the medical ward and were greeted by an almost luxury hotel appearance. The doors were golden and included giant trees on the inside. The lobby was the center of a large atrium complete with fountains, see-through elevators, and a large cafeteria. Ash salivated almost instantly. Leaf held her finger underneath his chin, stopping the flow of saliva.

"Not until we get you checked out," Leaf sternly muttered.

"Fine," Ash grumbled.

It turned out that they were in the hotel part of the hospital and found the hospital section directly connected to the right. They followed that path into a more modest and hospital-like setting. Misty limped her way up, leaning on her walking stick, to the reception desk.

"Hi, can me and this boy here," she gestured to Ash, "check into the emergency room. We were involved in a mountain-climbing accident and need medical attention. Dr. Ichijo told us to come here." The receptionist looked in awe.

"Where was this accident? Mt. Moon?"

"Yeah, and yes we did walk all the way here." The receptionist looked at the redheaded girl closely. As if a lightbulb had went off in her head, her eyes widened.

"Oh my! You're one of the Waterflowers. We'll get you and your friend checked out immediately. Now if you two," she looked at Brock and Leaf, "can fill these forms out, that'll be great." Misty gave Brock her wallet.

"Everything is in here that you need to know. Just search through it."

"Okay…" Brock took the wallet unsure of himself.

"Ash, I'll need Dexter. It has all the necessary information," Leaf commanded.

"Take my wallet, too, just in case," Ash handed her his wallet. He reached out his hand with the wallet and Leaf grabbed a hold of it with both hands. Their hands met, and time stopped. The world grew white around them. They started to float in the air, twirling around each other. Sparkles poured out from the both of them. They looked into each other's eyes, holding no care in the world what was going on around them. It was truly a moment to behold.

"God damn, this looks like something straight out of a cheesy fanfiction novel!" Brock yelled, effectively killing the moment. Ash and Leaf snapped back to reality, realizing they were still holding hands. They quickly letting go of each other with a yelp, not without a blush however. Misty had already been wheeled back into the ER on a wheelchair, so she missed out on that rather touching scene.

"Now, if you can follow me into the room next to Ms. Waterflower," the assigned nurse ordered while walking up to the young trainer, handing Ash a wheelchair and marking him down with her clipboard. Ash sat down and looked up and noticed she was…definitely not bad-looking.

'Hmmm…she's maybe in her mid-20's. She's pretty skinny, but not too skinny. She's pretty tall for a woman, I'd say about 5'7", heels accounted for. Her hair is short and black. Her bust is almost the size of Leaf's, but not quite there…hmmmm…she could smile a little more, though…'

"If you're done checking me out, I need to get you to your room."

"Whaaa? S-s-sorry! I wasn't checking you out or anything! I swear!" Leaf, who had witness it, narrowed her eyes at the now manhandled teenager. Ash looked back while he was being wheeled into the ER and saw her turn her face the other way.

'Damn, she must've seen that. I'm in deep shit, aren't I…'

-Room 805B-

7:00 PM

There was a curtain that separated the two rooms. Misty rested herself on the bed with her shirt and pants off in exchange for a hospital robe. The nurse had just left after taking her vitals. Bandages covered her all over, including her head. How she managed to make it here without keeling over and dying was just short of amazing, if not amazing in itself. She could say the same for Ash, whose back was completely torn apart in protecting Leaf. She had to admit aside from his denseness, lack of self-control and standards, and overall oblivious air about him, he was a pretty dependable guy and very brave when duty called for it, or when he had to rise to the occasion. His hot-headedness was the fuel for determination and the will to protect those he cared about. It struck a chord in her that kept ringing, especially the fight in the crater. Why was she thinking these things? Was it because she was in love? She didn't want to readily believe that; no one falls in love with a person they just met two days prior. Even if it did, she had a very late start with Leaf being the forerunner in the race. But still, she found herself unable to ignore these upcoming feeling that spurred out of nowhere.

She was regarded as the tomboy of the family, the guy to everyone's girl. This stemmed from being bullied as a child and resorted to taking up karate and swimming. She started to train heavily and resulted in becoming the toughest girl at each of her schools. No one messed with her; no one talked with her save a few childhood friends and the swim team. She was deemed unapproachable to everyone else. The only time she dropped her tough façade was on that fateful afternoon at the Pokemon Center at Mt. Moon. A teenage male trainer and his friends bumped into her, were friendly, and approached her with ease, not knowing about her tough side. She readily showed it, but it didn't faze him the slightest. She guessed he was the first male to ever accept her for who she was without questioning it.

"Ah, Misty," a soft male voice grabbed her attention, "I see you are doing rather well." Enter a young-looking middle-aged man in a doctor's uniform with jet black hair and slits for eyes.

"No kidding, Dr. Ichijo," she retorted back, crossing her arms and wincing at the pain.

"I see you are quite bandaged up. They need to be changed. We'll have to also look at the injuries to see if they're serious."

"Okay." Dr. Ichijo proceeded to unwrap the mummy-like attire that Misty had adopted. He took note of how badly cut up and beaten Misty was.

"Wow…just what kind of accident were you in? This looks like you were in a middle of a bomb blast!" Misty looked fidgety.

'Should I tell him about Team Rocket? I guess it's a good thing, but I don't want to cause an unnecessary panic… I guess it okay here.' "We happened to run into this terrorist group during one of their activities and it didn't spell out so well for us."

"A terrorist group?! Which one?"

"Uhh…Team Rocket?"

"Never heard of them…it would be a good thing to bring up to the Police if that's concerned. You did say terrorist group."

"I don't know if it would help any, honestly. We don't even know where they ran off to."

"It would still be good to tell them to be on the lookout. I'll tell them for you. Anyways, I've finished rewrapping your wounds. You can either stay here or rest at home, recommended you stay here, though. All that needs to happen is that you get some rest while you recuperate. You weren't bleeding as bad as before. I'll call your parents to come pick you up." Misty's face paled.

'Oh, shit. Mom's gonna be pissed.' She was powerless, however, to stop the doctor from pulling out his cellphone and calling the number listed as "very important people." The dial-tone could be heard throughout the room in the silence that preceded it.

"Ah, yes. Mrs. Waterflower? Hi, this is Dr. Ichijo. Just fine, hahaha! And yourself? Oh, yes! I'm sure you've been handling your students quite well. Anyways, I have a rather pressing issue you probably should be informed about. Your youngest has been admitted to Cerulean General Hospital recovering from a bo-" The connection was suddenly cut. Beads of sweat rolled down Dr. Ichijo's face as he slowly backed towards the dividing curtain.

"Well, your mother seems to have gotten the message."

"No kidding…"

"Anyways, wait for your mother. I'm sure she'll be very pleased to see you. I need to go check on your friend."

"…no kidding…"

-Room 805A-

Thing were a little quieter on the other side of the curtains. Ash simply dosed off after he laid his exhausted self on the bed. The curtain separating the room opened up to reveal a doctor, who went over to the bed and lightly poked him in the cheeks. In fact, he poked him several times in the cheeks to no avail. The boy stirred in his slumber, tossing to the other side of his body. He mumbled something almost unintelligible.

"…mmmm Bulbasaur…" He started mumbling even more incoherent phrases.

"…mmmm Pikachu…mmm Beedrill…mmm Nidoran…mmm Zubat…mmm Leaf…"

'That must be a dream I would never want to be a part of,' the doctor grimaced. He raised his open right hand slightly and swung it across the boy's face. Apparently, the nerve endings registered this time around as the boy shot straight up in bed.

"LEAF!" he yelled. He took a second to adjust to the light until the rest of the nerves in his back reregistered with his brain. This resulted in a very loud squeal of undeniable pain, so loud, the doctor had to cover his ears.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" He collapsed back onto the bed soon afterwards and very much wide awake. The doctor cleared his throat whilst flipping the page on his clipboard, grabbing the boy's attention.

"I assume you must be Ashton Ketchum?"

"Yeah."

"So you were in the same accident as Misty. You don't need to hide it from me; I already know it's a bomb blast."

"Did Misty tell yah?"

"Yes, which I should probably contact your parents."

"You don't have to. They know I'll be alright. They trust me enough."

"Are you sure? At least tell them you're okay." After contemplating about life, and the end of his world as he knew it, Ash decided to bring out his phone.

"Can you get my bag over there? It has my phone charger and my battery is almost dead."

"Sure thing." Dr. Ichijo walked over to the yellow backpack and pulled out the white cable and the attaching white socket. He walked over and plugged it into the wall socket behind the night stand. Ash plugged the phone in to the charging cable and began dialing his house. The three rings that followed were the most painful.

~ring~

~ring~

~ring~

~click~

"Hello?" a feminine voice pickup on the other side. Ash started to sweat bullets on how he was going to phrase what he went through the previous night. He wasn't sure how he would word "bomb blast," "Mt. Moon," and "Team Rocket" into a very calm, sensible way.

'Shit… should've prepared more for this before I called… ah fuck it!' ~gulp~ "Hey, Mom."

"Hi Ash dear, how are you doing?"

"J-Just fine," Ash stuttered. Unfortunately, Delia caught onto the stutter.

"Well, well. It seems like a lot has been going on. You didn't call last night."

"W-Well… I was kinda busy…"

"Oh I see," Delia said cheerfully, too cheerfully, "too busy to call your own mother, huh."

'Oh shit… I have no excuses for this.' Delia, now aware of the pauses Ash was making in his explanation, drew her verbal sword.

"So tell me. What were you so busy with that you didn't call me? C'mon. Out with it!"

"O-Okay. So we went through Mt. Moon last night to look for some cool pokemon… and had a little run-in with Team Rocket. And then, we were in the middle of a bomb blast created by… Team Rocket." The other end of the line was silent for a good minute. Ash was clueless how to respond in the advent of his mother's response.

"…are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm in the Cerulean Hospital getting the wounds on my back checked out, but other than that I'm fine. You don't need to come up or anything."

"But honey!"

"Trust me, Mom. I'm fine. I only have scratches and bruises and nothing was broken. I am, however, concerned with a traveling buddy who took the blast head-on."

"OH MY GOD! IS LEAF OKAY?!"

"Leaf is uninjured. It was another girl who got really hurt." There was a sudden slam that could be heard from the next room where Misty was staying. Many footsteps could be heard following creating a stampede-like noise, as well as screaming. "That must be her mother."

"…are you sure you don't want me to come up?"

"Trust me, Mom. I'm fine. Get some rest and tell Dad I said hi."

"Alright dear, stay safe and don't get into any more trouble. Understand?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Good, now rest up easy. 'Night!" ~click~ Ash let out a long sigh of relief. He honestly thought he aged 10 years in 10 minutes. He took it his mother was doing well back home, based on her cheery disposition before he 'dropped the bomb.' He could only think what she was thinking right now.

-Ketchum Residence – Pallet Town-

Delia immediately slammed the house phone and picked up a black phone with only two numbers on it. One was her husband and the other was Matt Oak. This was an encrypted line used by the government to transmit calls on a different frequency than other phones and can only be traced by top government professionals. She picked it up, looked for her husband's name, and dialed.

"Hey, hon!" a cheery male voice started on the other side, "d'yah miss me enough to call from the other line?"

"No. Your son just called from the Cerulean City Hospital. He was injured in a bomb blast made by Team Rocket." Silence followed.

"Hon."

"Yes?"

"…I'll call you back."

-Room 805B-

Several women surrounded the bed. Three looked like they were in their 20's and one looked like she was in her 50's. The one in her 50's, with bright red hair, was obviously the mother of the four. The other four, including one wrapped in bandages and confined to a bed, were her children. The mother's face showed a mix of concern, fear, and anger. She looked down at her daughter.

"What in the HELL happened to you?!"

"Exactly what Dr. Ichijo said happened," Misty deadpanned.

"I mean who?! Who in their right mind injures a young girl, a Waterflower to be exact?!"

"Maybe groups like Team Rocket. Other than that, there are plenty of terrorist groups, I'm sure."

"D-Don't say that! I don't want you hurt like this! Where's the police?!"

"You can't do anything. They disappeared without a trace." Misty looked up at her Mom, and then to the nurse who huddled at the corner. "Hey, Nurse. Can you please get someone to restrain her?" The nurse looked at the mother nervously, who was heaving.

"U-U-Uh…"

"Okay. I think I've calmed down," Mrs. Waterflower gasped for air, "So you're okay, right?"

"Just a couple of scratches here and there. Nothing to be worried about." Mrs. Waterflower took a good look at her daughter.

"You're completely covered in bandages. You're not fine."

"I'm fine!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"You are definitely not!"

"I definitely am!" The young, blonde-haired woman next to the fiery lady took a deep sigh. She placed her hand on her shoulders.

"Mom, like, chill out a bit. Misty's fine. If she says she's fine, she's definitely fine. I don't think we need to, like, worry too much about her anyways, seeing as how she's still, like, alive after a being in the middle of a bomb blast. I'm pretty sure that Misty can, like, handle herself in situations as she just did. Have, like, a little faith, will yah?" It was the Mom's turn to sigh.

"Well, I guess they all grow up fast. I remember when sending you three off to the academy. I guess I'll have to let go of her too at some point. We did send her off on a short trek to see if she can survive on her own. It looks like we were right."

"Right about what?" Misty butted in knowing this conversation was about her."

"About you surviving in the wilderness. You are, like, the most athletic of the four of us, after all," the blond older sister said.

"Well, you're not wrong about that. Anyways, I'm fine, you guys and my injuries are almost healed up." The doctor reappeared from the curtain as if on cue.

"I wouldn't say so," Dr. Ichijo butted in, "I'd give it a couple more days to fully heal up properly before starting any other activities. Until then, you're not to be discharged for the next three nights. Understood? I told Ash the same thing just now."

"Got it."

"Hope you feel better, Misty," a girl with purple hair suddenly spoke up, unsure of herself.

"Yeah. Hope you, like, don't die on us," another girl with pink hair also spoke up. They were assumed to be the other two sisters of Misty. As they were saying this, however, they were fidgeting as if they were regretting something.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's not like you two to worry about me anyways."

"Well, we're going back to the house. Call us if you need anything, Dr. Ichijo." The four women marched back out of the hospital and into the night.

"Well, I see your mother and sisters are doing well."

"As always."

"Anyways, get some rest. I'll let your friends stay here overnight." Dr. Ichijo left the room in a hurry.

Leaf and Brock walked into the rooms and threw open the curtains separating the two. This had Ash and Misty lying next to each other with chairs and nightstands on each side. Leaf, of course, sat next to Ash's side while Brock sat next to Misty. The room, when joined, was rather large. There was a large TV on Ash's side of the room, meant for visitors in the room, as well as a smaller TV mounted on the wall in front of Misty.

"So, are you going to be okay?" Leaf asked worryingly. She had her hands in front of her thinking of taking Ash's hand, only to pull them back in self-control.

"I'm going to die in the next hour. Do you want me to read my will?" Ash deadpanned. Leaf was not amused… at all.

"Ash, please note that I care deeply for you as a person and my best friend and I get the joke, but let me remind you that you were in a deadly situation that could have well ended your life and I was seriously worried that you weren't going to recover." Ash had no response to that.

'Sigh… I should really learn how to draw lines not to cross.' He looked away in remorse.

"…right… sorry." He turned back around to find Leaf rather close to his face. She wore a very devious smile. Ash, having seen this face millions of times, knew what this probably meant.

"…so how are you going to show you're sorry, hmmm?" Leaf mischievously purred. She leaned over the bed enough to where Ash's eyes didn't have to dart far down to catch the curves of the goddess in front of him. He was not deterred, though, from stopping her advances.

"Leaf," Ash deadpanned again, "you should know by now this doesn't work on me if you do it deliberately." Leaf threw herself back in the chair and crossed her arms and turned the other direction, cross at her own failure. Misty and Brock, who were silent the entire time while watching them, looked at each other puzzled.

"Hey Brock," Misty said quietly, "what is the real relationship between those two? That doesn't look like a best friend relationship."

"Beats me. I'm rather confused as well…" The door suddenly opened to reveal a brown, spikey-haired teen. Everyone in the room, sans Misty, knew who this trainer was. He made his way to the chair next to Leaf without saying much of a word. Misty eyed him rather cautiously; he put on a rather intimidating front as he approached the fedora-wearing girl. He stopped in front of her and looked at Ash, who was messing around with his PokeGear.

"So," he sneered, "I see Ashy-boy's confined to a hospital bed. Did you suck enough to actually land in the hospital?"

"You do realize, Gary, that there are ways to end up in a hospital bed other than losing a pokemon battle. I don't even think that in itself is possible," Ash retorted back. Leaf looked like she was about ready to kill Gary as she was glaring daggers at him.

"Well all kidding aside, glad to see you're still alive after last night. Must've been quite the party. And I wasn't being serious, Leaf." She huffed at Gary's reply, turning her head away from the two of them.

"Why are you here, Gary?"

"Your mother said to come in and check on you, which was a waste of a trip since you and Leaf are doing fine Even Leaf is uninjured."

"Thanks for your worries, then," Ash sarcastically remarked.

"Well, I'll be in town all week to take on the Cerulean Gym. Come if you can, although you might still be cooped up in here when I bring hell to the Cerulean Gym."

"Heh, you and what army?" Misty quietly sneered to herself. Gary, using the keen sense of hearing he had, heard those words loud and clear. He turned to the other bed and made his way over.

"And who might you be, Miss 'I don't believe Gary Oak can take down the Gym Leader?' Another trainer?"

"I'm Misty, and I believe you won't stand a chance." While this unusual banter was going on, Ash looked at Leaf, who had calmed down from her earlier outburst, and whispered to her.

"Ummmm, is it just me or does Misty sound like she is accepting the challenge from Gary?"

"No, I definitely see some adrenaline pumping through Misty. This is strange. We should ask Misty later…"

"Ehh, I'd leave it be. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"What about dinner?"

"I think they bring us food to the room and we eat on the bed."

"Okay… And don't forget to brush your teeth and everything!"

"Yeah, since I can totally get up and go to the bathroom."

"Wait, so how ARE you going to go to the bathroom?" Leaf asked incredulously. Ash thought about it for a moment, and then laughed nervously at his own naiveté.

"…uh, go in a cup?"

"Yeah, you'd totally go in a cup with me sitting here." Ash reeled back at the thought.

"I guess I'll get up and go myself; I'm supposed to move as least as possible, but bathrooms won't hurt." Leaf looked conflicted, and decided to give into pressure, not that she minded anyways.

"…fine. I'll get your toothbrush and cup and stuff. Just wait here." She looked over to Brock, who had not said much of a word since they sat inside the room. "Hey, Brock. Can you take care of Misty for me?"

"…sure…"

"Okay, Gary. We're going to bed. These two need to rest up their injuries," Leaf shouted over to the brooding trainer over on Misty's end of the room. Gary turned around instantly and headed for the exit.

"So long, you four; we'll meet again at the Cerulean Gym." He made his way out the door, with Ash, Leaf, Brock, and Misty all staring at it.

"Well that was random," Ash mused.

-Unknown Location-

8:00 PM

It was a large office fit with the latest in technology. It looked out towards the skyline of the vast city it sat atop of. In the center of the large oak desk sat a large man in a rather expensive suit. The way the sun was setting, one could only see his eyes and the rest of his face and body were blacked out by the silhouette. He slumped over the desk and propped his forehead. He was clearly exasperated by the three officers in front of him. The three were visibly frightened of this man to have been personally called to his office. His assistant stood behind him, noted to be a blonde woman with a black beret with a large, red R. He looked at the young woman of the three first and pointed to the headlines from Viridian City.

"So, you've decided to show yourselves," the man started brusquely. The young woman gulped. "This was supposed to be a rather simple job that no one else was available to do at the time. It should have taken no more than 15 minutes. Why, pray I ask, did the job fail?" The woman looked to her comrades in search of an answer, only to fail at obtaining one.

"No, Jessie; I'm talking to you, not your teammates. Why did you fail at such a simple job." Jessie knew there was no weeding her way out. She was looking for a valid excuse when there was none. She was finished.

"…well… there's no easy way to explain this, but we underestimated the opponents." The boss man was not pleased with that answer, in fact so displeased he immediately exploded.

"They were NEW TRAINERS! YOU THREE ARE FUCKING ROCKET ELITES FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! YOU SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED THEM! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE FUCK YOU FAILED THE EASIEST MISSION! You even had the guts to hide from me for FIVE DAYS. Were you trying to run from me? It doesn't matter. You three are lined up for a mission in Cerulean City to capture a rare Gyarados. Do NOT fuck this mission up, do you understand? Do so one more time and you three will be demoted faster than lightning can strike the ground. Do you fucking understand?"

"Yes, sir," the three solemnly said.

"Now, go on and get prepared. You will NOT be taking the balloon and will walk. You have lost those privileges as of five days ago."

"Yes, sir."

"GET THE FUCK OUT MY OFFICE!" The three, with sullen looks on their faces, were promptly escorted out by his assistant. This was not a good day for the three. The air inside the office still remained heavy. The man thought to him about the entire situation.

"What could cause this failure from one of Team Rocket's best teams?" he mused. His assistant stayed silent.

-Somewhere in Western Cerulean City-

October 9th, 2007 – 12:00 PM

A small, blond-haired girl made her way into the city. She wasn't totally new to the concept of cars and the city, but seeing so many at a time threw her mind for a loop. She walked down the green path of the route trail in the heart of the city. Her usual mode of transportation was in its pokeball sleeping after an entire morning of running and walking. Amber was in the middle of Cerulean City.

A creek ran almost parallel to the paved trail. The trail was lined with decorative rocks and natural trees, adding a greener look to the area. She looked around in wonder, wondering at how such a green place could exist in such a big city. The city itself had over 800,000 people in it and was voted the second greenest city in Kanto after Viridian City. It was infamous for its abundant canopy like that of Viridian City, but rose to great heights with its blue skyscrapers. The greenery accentuated the blue reflections given off by the buildings in the heart of the city,

She eventually found an exit that led into downtown where the Pokemon Center was. She noticed the streets were tinted blue from the buildings above and people moving out and about around her. She felt a little frightened by the sheer amount of people, but was determined to find the Pokemon Center. She pulled out her PokeGear and tried to follow the map.

'Okay. So I'm on Creighton Avenue near the West Bank Tower. I need to head east and then turn right on Bourne Street and then another left onto Kamin Road. This city is a little too big…'

It was around 1:30 PM when she finally found the Pokemon Center. It was 4 stories high with the signature giant pokeball dome on top of the entrance with shops and other businesses surrounding it. It was much like the Pewter and Viridian City Pokemon Centers, only much larger.

"Alright, you guys. We're gonna take a break here for tonight. We'll explore the city tomorrow before we take on the Cerulean Gym, okay?" She made her way to the Recovery Ward to drop off her pokemon before checking into her room. All was quiet.

A/N: Sorry if there was no action and lots of shipping in this chapter. There will be a little bit of action the next chapter, though, and a lot of action after that. I wanted to wind down after the heap of action the last chapter had. But, I hope you got the references in this one. Look forward to the next chapter where the Waterflowers are introduced. Updates are going to be slower due to taking on another fic. As always, read, love, review! :D