Pokémon Trix: Tales of Soot and Ash

by Ohirume

Imagine a version of the Pokémon world where Ash Ketchum came into possession of the most powerful device in the world of Ben 10. Now imagine that written by some psycho. Yeah... Pokémon/Ben 10 crossover, sort of. Weird censoring. Tell me what you think. Due to this websites regular glitches/breakdowns, chapters and status updates will be posted on DeviantArt. Username: Ohirume1

64. Ch 58: Misty Mermaid

**If you're being harassed by google ads infecting your page – go to the URL and replace the 'www' with an 'm'

It's less detailed, so navigation is more annoying. But that's the fault of the website for letting the ads start appearing**

Omega: *flips page* "The Misty Mermaid."

Illavera: *smiles* Oh, like a parody of The Little Mermaid.

Seishin: *grins* Yes. But we're doing something a little different for this chapter's title.

Mizuro: *raises brow* Huh? *looks at title and eyes widen. Grins*

Pike: *looks at title and raises brow* Uh…

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

.

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So I Have To Play A Mermaid, So What?

.

It had been a little over a day since Ash and co. left Cinnabar Island and got back to the mainland to journey towards Viridian City; the site of Ash's final Gym Battle. They decided to stop for the night in a forest clearing as per the usual.

Misty and her team lounged in the pool, Brock, Electra, and Geodude were at the set-up cooking station, and the rest of the breeder's team watched Ash work with his entire team.

"Alright, everyone!" Ash called out while in the new blastoise form and with Soot by his side. He smiled, "All of you have put in a lot of work for us to get this far. Just saying that I'm proud of you all wouldn't be enough." He frowned, "But we're coming up on the most important Gym Battle of our journey. One that we really don't wanna lose."

Aerodactyl raised a brow, "That not obvious? Losing never wanted."

Soot smiled sadly, "That's not what he means. The Viridian Gym has a losing penalty."

Pidgeotto tilted her head, "What is it?"

Clefairy frowned, "That we-"

"Chaaa!" Electra yawned as she sat at Brock's workstation.

Brock looked at her curiously, "How late did you stay up last night?"

The female Mouse Pokémon looked at him and shook a paw with a somewhat unsure look, "Pikachu."

Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Aerodactyl, Primeape, and Arbok's eyes widened.

"O- oh…" Charizard muttered anxiously.

Pikachu sighed, "Yeah…"

Primeape crossed his arms and looked down, "Freaking Yvel. Talk about stakes."

Pidgeotto frowned, "I guess we really can't afford to lose this one."

Ash smiled softly, "Hey, don't get psyched out. We just have to do what we always do."

Bulbasaur smiled, "Give it our full effort."

Ash nodded, "Exactly. If we lose, that's on me for not preparing you well enough."

Squirtle snorted, "Very funny." He smiled at the fully evolved Water-type, "So, what do we have planned for today?"

Ash glared determinedly, "A lot. This form and the new darmanitan one give us more than a few new moves for all of you to get started on."

Ash looked at Squirtle, "Hydro Pump." He looked at Clefairy, "Psychic." He looked back and forth between them, "And Zen Headbutt, if you want." The Fairy Pokémon smiled happily, and the Tiny Turtle Pokémon grinned.

Ash looked at Charizard, "Then there's Dragon Pulse." The Flame Pokémon's eyes narrowed determinedly.

He looked at Primeape, "And Ice Punch with Throat Chop in the works for later." The Pig Monkey glared excitedly and put a fist to his palm.

He then looked at Arbok, "And now we've got Rock Tomb on the table." The Cobra Pokémon's eyes widened before he smiled.

The Shellfish Pokémon looked around, "At the rate we're moving, we'll be in Viridian in about a week. It goes without saying that we'll have our work cut out for us."

He clenched a fist and grinned determinedly, "So, let's use this next week to our fullest. We'll train like Yvel and get us that Earth Badge!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

.

*One week later

Omega: Hold it, twenty-four fillers between Fuchsia and Cinnabar and you do a skip this big after one?!

Ohirume: Check the clipboard.

Omega: *eyes widen. Pulls out PokéSins clipboard and flips page* Well, ****.

Upon arriving in Viridian City, the group made their way towards the local Pokémon Center. They came up to the building a few minutes after entering the city limits; having already known where it was.

Electra -in her pink shirt and baby blue belt-, Togepi, and Clefairy all looked up at the massive Center in awe.

Misty smiled nervously, "Well, looks like they finished with the repairs."

"I just hope they're not upset about it." Pikachu said while frowning. Ash translated.

Brock looked at them in confusion, "Huh?" He perked up and looked at the building, "Oh, right. You said this is where you ran into Team Rocket for the first time."

Soot sweat dropped, "And turned the roof into rubble with koffing gas."

Electra tensed up and frowned, "O- oh…"

Clefairy looked at Ash, "But you guys were helping stop them from stealing Pokémon, right? Isn't that a good thing?"

Soot translated before frowning, "Well, technically yes. But there was still a lot of damage."

Ash sighed, "Jenny let us off the hook after the interrogation and Joy did thank us for fighting the three of them off, so I don't think there'll be any grudges." He sweat dropped, "Though, Joy still seemed kind of upset about the damage."

Misty, Soot, and Pikachu sighed. Togepi looked up at Misty sadly. Brock, Electra, and Clefairy looked at them sympathetically.

Brock looked back at the building and looked back at them with a smile, "Well, what if I just took all of our Pokémon in to get healed and said you were running errands? I wasn't here for that, so they shouldn't have any issues with me."

The watch user, Water-type user, male Mouse Pokémon, and Bite Pokémon looked at him in surprise.

Ash smiled softly, "I appreciate it." He looked back at the building, "But we shouldn't try to avoid this."

Misty smiled softly and nodded, "Agreed."

Soot grinned, "Though, we're not gonna argue if you wanna back us up."

Brock chuckled, "Sure thing."

The group walked through the front entrance and up to the counter.

Nurse Joy smiled at them happily, "Hello. Welcome to-" She tensed up and smiled nervously, "Oh, um … hello again."

Ash smiled nervously and waved, "H- hey. Um, sorry again about-"

Joy perked up and waved her hands, "No, really, it's okay. You helped us out a lot that day. If it weren't for you, a lot of Pokémon could've been stolen." She put her hands back down, frowned, and looked around the lobby, "It's just…"

Misty rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, "The damage."

Joy looked back at them and chuckled nervously, "Yeah…"

Brock glanced around before clearing his throat and moving to stand in front of Ash and Misty. He smiled, "Anyway. We were hoping we could get our Pokémon checked up. We're planning to head straight to the Gym from here."

The nurse perked up, "Oh, yes. Of course." She reached under the counter, pulled out four pokéball trays, and placed them on the table, "Here you go."

Ash smiled and nodded, "Thank you." He removed seven pokéballs from his belt and placed them in two of the trays.

Misty placed five of hers in the third tray and Brock placed four of his in the fourth. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra jumped down to the counter. Soot shifted her eyes and walked through the counter; making Joy look at her in mild surprise.

Misty placed Togepi on the counter and petted him, "Remember to behave, sweetie."

The Spike Ball Pokémon smiled, "Okay, meema." He ran to the other side of the counter and jumped off to land onto Soot's back.

Joy stacked up the trays, picked them up, and smiled at the group, "I'll have them all back to you in a moment." She turned and started walking towards the back. The Mouse, Fairy, and Bite Pokémon followed.

Misty looked at Brock and whispered, "Thanks for the save."

Brock smiled, gave a thumbs up, and whispered back, "No problem."

Joy perked up, "Oh, I almost forgot." She looked back at the Cerulean girl, "You're Misty Waterflower, right?"

Misty looked at her in surprise, "Uh, yes?"

Joy smiled and pointed at the phones, "Your sisters called before and asked that you call them when you get the chance."

Misty's eyes widen before she looked at the phones. She shook it off and looked at the nurse, "Uh, right. I'll get right to it. Thanks."

Nurse Joy smiled and entered the back room of the Center.

Ash looked at Misty with a raised brow, "Did you tell your sisters we'd be here?"

Misty sweat dropped and walked over to the phones, "Nope." The guys shared an anxious glance.

Misty took a seat at one of the phones, took the receiver, and dialed the Cerulean Gym. After a few rings, the screen lit up to reveal her blond sister.

Daisy smiled happily, "Hey there, sis. How's it goin'?"

"How the Yvel did you know I would be in Viridian?" Misty asked while deadpanning.

Daisy continued smiling, "Aw, come on, Misty. We're, like, you're sisters."

Misty raised a brow.

Daisy sighed in defeat, "We knew Ash was doing the main eight route."

Misty sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Of course…" She looked at the camera again, "Alright, since you timed this, I'm guessing you didn't just call to say hi. What do you want?"

Daisy winked, "Aw, sis. Can't a little sister just, like, get a call from her beautiful-"

"I'm hanging up." Misty said before moving the receiver away.

"Okay! Okay!" Daisy blurted out, "I'll get to the point!"

Misty put the receiver back to her ear.

Daisy sighed, "Look, Misty, we really do miss you. You haven't been home ever since your Gym Battle." She frowned sadly, "You can't really say you don't feel homesick at all, can you?"

Misty's look softened as she glanced away, "Well…"

"We just want you to come and visit sometime soon." Daisy said, "Please?" She smiled sadly, "You'd even be able to let your Pokémon swim around in the pool. And I'm sure Ash and Brock would have fun, too."

Misty sighed, "Playing that card, huh?" She looked back at the others.

Ash smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Misty looked back at her sister and smiled softly, "Alright, we'll stop by home and visit."

Daisy smiled happily, "Oh thank you, sis! We'll, like, see you soon!"

Misty waved, "See ya." She hung up. The guys took that as their signal that it was okay to approach.

Ash looked at the Cerulean girl with a kind smile, "So should we run by Cerulean before going to the Gym?"

Misty stood back up and looked at him; deadpanned, "Oh please, my sisters can wait an extra day or two." She pointed a thumb to the side and at the entrance, "I say we get the Gym Battle over with and then see what they really want."

Brock frowned, "You really think they don't just miss you?"

Misty looked at him, "Well, I think Daisy was telling the truth about that." She glanced back at the phone, "How much of that was the full truth is what I'm doubting."

Ash and Brock sweat dropped.

.

**Short Skip**

After getting their Pokémon back, everyone made their way straight to the Viridian Gym. It did not take long.

It was a large orange and white building sitting on a second level. A large fountain sat in between a pair of white staircases and the entrance had a series of white pillars leading to the entrance.

The group made their way up one of the staircases. They found two muscular guards wielding halberds and dressed up as centurions with white plumes standing on either side of the door.

Brock frowned uncomfortably, "Whoa. I didn't expect security like this."

Soot sweat dropped, "Maybe Team Rocket messing with Gym battles has had more impact than we thought."

Electra blinked curiously, "What are they wearing, though?"

Soot looked at her and smiled, "They're dressed up as centurions. A kind of human warrior that were pretty common back in ancient times." She looked back at the men, "The feathers-" She perked up and squinted, "No wait, one of them is fur…" She shook it off, "The plume on their helmet is meant to make them look more intimidating."

Pikachu sweat dropped, "Really?"

Ash chuckled, "To clarify, it's about making them look taller and more impressive."

Clefairy tilted while staring curiously, "Huh. I can kinda see that."

Everyone jerked and looked back as a red convertible screeched to a halt at the ground level. They all deadpanned as Gary Oak jumped out of the vehicle and looked up at the Gym with a sly smirk.

His cheerleaders got out of the car, and they all walked up the staircase to the Gym.

Gary perked up and stared in surprise upon seeing the group. He smirked, "Well look who it is. And here I thought you gave up and went back to Pallet."

Brock and Misty groaned. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra glared at him. Togepi glared while pouting sourly.

Ash looked at him in boredom, "Hello again, Gary."

Soot raised a brow, "You realize you already used that insult on the ship to Cinnabar, right?"

Gary glanced away sourly and mumbled, "I'd like to see you improvise."

Soot leaned closer and put a paw to the side of her head; smirking, "What was that?"

Gary looked at her sourly, "Nothing." He looked at Ash again and smirked, "Let me guess, you still don't have enough badges to get into the League."

Ash pointed a thumb back at the Gym, "I'm here for my eighth."

Gary grinned and reached into his pocket to pull out his badge case, "Well, then you've got some catching up to do." The lid dropped down to reveal ten different Gym Badges.

The badges on the top row were a Boulder Badge, Rainbow Badge, a gray oval badge with a line running down the middle and brown circle near the bottom, a green square with two lines running across it and a large brown circle on top of where the lines would cross, and a badge resembling a single yellow claw.

The bottom row had a Cascade Badge, an orange one in the shape of a bell, an arrow shape that was half green and half light brown, the Burner Badge, and one that looked like two white rectangles overlapping in a plus shape.

The shoulder riders all stared in shock. The humans and Soot sweat dropped.

"As you can see, I've already got ten badges." Gary said cockily, "What do you think of that?"

Soot looked at the case, "Well, let's see. Boulder, Rainbow, Poison, Leaf, Cunning, Cascade, Spirit, Dirt, Burner, and Metal."

Ohirume: Quick disclaimer, I did not come up with all the names. Credit goes to "Forever United Never We Fall" and their story "The Greatest There Was or Ever Will Be: Kanto League Journeys".

They actually named all twenty-seven badges … well-

Seishin: DAH! Spoiler!

Ohirume: Oh, uh, a lot of the badges outside the main eight/game course.

*scratches cheek nervously* Though, if you're reading this Forever, I do apologize for changing the "Fire Red Badge" to the "Burner Badge" and the "Leaf Green Badge" to just "Leaf Badge".

Soot smiled happily and started speaking in an extremely condescending tone with her tail wagging, "Oh wow, three whole main eight badges? I can't believe you got sooo many. You must have put in a ton of work, Gare-bare."

Gary glared at her, "You're a real glitch, y'know that?"

Ash glared at him, "Hey!"

Soot glanced away and smirked slyly, "Yeah, maybe a little."

Ash tensed up before groaning. He shook it off and looked at his rival, "If you already have that many badges, what are you doing here? You obviously didn't know we'd be here, so bragging wasn't the main reason."

Gary went back to smirking and walked past him, "Why else would I be here? I'm just stopping by to see if the Gym Leader wants to battle a real trainer."

Misty tensed up and glared at him, "Hey! We got here first!"

"Togepriii!" Togepi called out angrily while waving his arms.

Gary smirked back, "Ya snooze, ya lose!" He looked at the guards; still smirking, "I'm Gary Oak from Pallet Town. I hereby request a battle with the Leader of this Gym."

The Guards shared a glance. They looked back at the trainer before raising their weapons slightly and tapping the ground with them. The door clicked and slid open. Gary started walking towards the entrance.

"Let's go!" One of the cheerleaders said as she followed him.

"Gary will win again." Another said.

"Like he always does."

Mizuro: *sigh*

The door slid closed after all of them entered. Misty, Brock, and their Pokémon glared angrily.

"Seriously?!" Pikachu shouted; cheeks sparking, "We've been training our tails off for today and he just waltzes in a takes our spot?!"

Clefairy glared, "Rude!"

Ash sighed, "Don't worry. We'll still get our battle." He approached the entrance. Everyone else followed.

One of the guards noticed and held out a hand, "Hold it. Only one challenger may enter at a time."

Ash nodded, "I know that. I just wanna make sure I can still get in after him."

The guard put his hand down, "After the current challenger leaves-" He perked up, put a hand to his ear, and glanced away, "Yes?"

Electra blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

Brock looked at her, "He probably has an earpiece in his helmet."

She flinched and looked at her trainer fearfully while grabbing her own ear, "What?!" Clefairy and Togepi looked at Brock in shock. Pikachu frowned uncomfortably.

Soot snorted, "That's not what he meant. They're small devices kinda like cellphones except they only connect with a main source and usually other earpieces. It's called an 'earpiece' because it attaches to your ear."

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Togepi sighed in relief.

Electra's eyes lit up and she smiled excitedly, "Insane!" The other guard looked at the Electric-type in confusion.

"Understood." The guard said before looking at the group; catching their attention, "I'm sorry, but something's come up. The current challenger will be the last for the rest of the day."

Soot sweat dropped, 'Of course.' Pikachu and Clefairy groaned and slumped forward sadly.

Ash sighed, "I understand." He looked at the guards, "Can I try again tomorrow?"

The other guard frowned, "I can't guarantee-" He perked up and put a hand to his ear. He put his hand back down, "An appointment has been made for the day after tomorrow. Three-thirty."

Ash smiled up at the wall of the Gym and gave a thumbs up, "Works for me. Thank you."

The guards jerked and stared in shock. The others looked at the trainer in confusion before following his gaze. They just saw the wall.

Misty sweat dropped, "Uh…"

"Hidden security camera." Ash responded, "Someone manning them has been watching us and listening." He looked at her, "Anyway, now that we have time, we can make the trip to Cerulean. We can fly there and be back in time for the battle."

Misty sighed, "Fine…"

Soot sweat dropped while smiling, "Kinda thought you'd be more eager for Togepi to meet his aunts."

Togepi blinked in confusion, "What's an aunt?"

Pikachu looked at him, "She means Misty's sisters. Her female siblings."

Togepi tilted, "Sist-" He perked up in realization, "Wait! Meema's siblings?!" He smiled excitedly.

Misty looked down at him before sighing, smiling softly, and petting him, "Alright. We can hurry over there."

Ash smiled and nodded, "Alright then." He reached back before perking up and looking at the hidden camera. He frowned before looking back and forth between Brock and Misty, "Actually, we should probably get out of view of the cameras. I don't wanna give the Gym Leader any more info."

The Gym Leaders nodded, "Right."

Ash looked at the guards, "You're not gonna say anything, right?"

One of them let out a brief chuckle, "Trust me, it's in our better interest that we keep quiet about your team."

Soot smiled, "Thanks."

The group rushed back down the stairs to the ground level. Ash looked back at the building and motioned for everyone to move back a little more. After that happened, he brought out his Flying-types, everyone loaded on, and they took off.

The guards watched as they flew off into the distance.

One of them frowned, "So that's Ketchum, huh?"

"I guess so." The other said before looking at the hidden camera, "How the Yvel did he even see that?"

.

*Cerulean City

The group touched down in front of the Gym, unloaded from the Flying-types, and Ash returned them.

Misty smiled, "Here we are. Cerulean Gym."

Electra smiled while looking at the building, "Woah."

Clefairy smiled, "It's pretty, right?"

Togepi stared curiously before looking up at Misty, "This is where meema grew up?"

Soot translated.

Misty smiled, "Yup. This is meema's home." She held him up, "And wait until you see inside. There's a huge pool and tons of Water-types to…" Her eyes widened, "get to know…" 'Wow. I have a lot of introductions to make.'

Togepi looked back at the building and smiled brightly.

Brock smiled and patted Misty on the back, "Come on, let's not keep your sisters waiting."

Misty nodded. She hurried up to the entrance. Everyone else followed.

The Water-type trainer walked through the front entrance and called out, "Everybody! We're home!"

A few seconds later, her sisters all appeared from a hallway.

They all smiled excitedly and ran up to crowd around her, "Misty!"

"Hey!" Misty blurted out, "Careful with Togepi!"

Daisy perked up and backed up, "With what?" Violet and Lily backed up too.

Misty held up the Spike Ball Pokémon. Togepi smiled and waved, "Hi funny hair humans!"

Lily smiled brightly and put her hands to her cheeks, "Aw, look at it! It's, like, the cutest!"

Misty deadpanned, "He. Togepi's a boy."

Violet sweat dropped and smiled nervously, "Oh, uh, sorry."

The orange haired girl smiled down at the Fairy-type, "Sweetie, these are your aunts." She gestured to the blond, "This is Daisy," She gestured to the blue haired one, "That's Violet," She then gestured to her pink haired sister, "And Lily."

Electra perked up and smiled down at Soot, "Oh, like your middle name."

Soot tensed up and groaned.

Togepi looked up at Misty and nodded, "Ooooh." He smiled and waved at the girls, "Hi aunts!"

Lily blinked in surprise, "Aunts?"

Daisy raised a brow, "Sweetie? Like, since when did you say stuff like that?"

Misty looked at her blond sister with a smile, "Oh, well, back when we went to-"

Violet noticed the others and smiled, "Oh, hey Ash. Hey Soot. Nice to see you again." The others looked as well. Misty sweat dropped.

"Yo." Soot said with a raised paw.

Ash smiled, "Good to see you, again."

Pikachu and Clefairy raised a paw/hand, "Hi."

Electra smiled, "Nice to meet you."

The Sensational Sisters smiled and walked past their youngest sister and up to them.

"Hey guys." Lily said.

"Long time no see." Daisy followed.

Brock smiled, blushed, and held out a hand, "I don't believe we've officially met. My name's Brock Slate, from Pewter City."

Violet squealed excitedly, "Oh my Arc!" She grabbed Electra and held her up, "Look at this adorable pikachu."

Brock tensed up as his smile faded. Soot snickered. Electra blinked in confusion.

"I've, like, never seen one with hair like this!" Violet continued.

Lily moved closer and smiled brightly, "Aw, it-" She noticed the tail, "She's so cute! And you even dressed her up like a little person!"

Ash raised a finger, "Actually, the clothing was her choice. Electra really likes human stuff."

Soot smiled, "So much so that she named herself and lived in a tent when she was wild."

Daisy looked back at them in surprise, "Really?" She smiled and looked back at the Mouse Pokémon, "Electra, right? You, like, ever had your hair styled?"

Electra tilted her head while staring in confusion, "Kachu?"

Misty sweat dropped, 'Poor Elect-' She perked up and blinked, 'Actually she might enjoy that.' She turned back towards the hall and started walking, "If you need me, I'll be at the pool."

.

*Pool

Misty tossed up five pokéballs, "Come on out, guys!"

The spheres burst open as Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie, Seadra, and Psyduck appeared in the pool. The Duck Pokémon's eyes blipped blue immediately.

Seadra looked around in awe, "Wooooooah."

Goldeen looked around in surprise before looking at her trainer, "Misty, are we back in Cerulean?"

Psyduck looked at her as well and translated telepathically.

Misty smiled and crouched down, "Yup. We came by to visit." She looked around at everyone, "We don't have to leave until the day after tomorrow. So everyone, take some downtime and have fun."

Starmie saluted and excitedly said, "Yes ma'am!" They dove down and disappeared into the water. Staryu followed their sibling.

Goldeen smiled at Seadra, "Come on, I'll show you around."

Seadra raised a brow, "Around a pool?"

Goldeen chuckled, "The aquarium. This pool connects to them."

Seadra's eyes lit up, "Awesome! Let's go." The pair disappeared into the water.

Psyduck frowned uncomfortably before jumping out of the water and landing next to Misty. He put his hands behind his head, 'I think I'd rather stick around you for now. Y'know, Calm Mind.'

Misty sweat dropped, "Fair enough."

"Did you already let them out?" Ash asked as he and everyone else entered the area; minus Soot, Violet, and Electra.

Misty looked at them, stood back up, and smiled, "Yeah. I told everyone they had some time off. Goldeen's showing Seadra around the aquarium."

Lily perked up and blinked in surprise, "Huh? How do you know that?"

Psyduck raised a hand, 'That'd be me.'

Lily jumped and stared at him in shock, "Woah! It can, like, talk too?!"

Daisy sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly, "I think that was telepathy. It's a psyduck"

Psyduck smiled, looked up at Misty, and pointed at Daisy, 'Hey, that one's smarter than you had me thinkin'.'

Misty tensed up and looked at him in alarm.

Psyduck snickered, 'Calm down, that one only went to you.' He glanced at their friends, 'And them.'

Brock chuckled nervously. Ash sweat dropped; having not 'heard' the Water-type.

Lily noticed Misty's reaction and blinked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Misty jerked and smiled nervously, "Oh, uh-" She glanced around and perked up, "Hey where'd Soot, Electra, and Violet go?"

Daisy smiled and pointed a thumb back, "Oh, Violet's giving the pikachu a hairdo, and the mightyena went to translate." She blinked in surprise, "Well there's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

"You get used to it." Brock said.

"Sure…" Lily said while sweat dropping. She shook it off and smiled at Misty, "Well, whatever. Come on, we have to prepare for the performance."

Misty blinked in surprise, "What performance?"

Daisy raised a brow and pointed a thumb to the side, "Haven't you, like, seen the poster?"

Ash blinked in confusion, "Poster?" He looked where she was pointing and sweat dropped, "Oh…"

The poster had an underwater background and depicted two actors dressed up like a prince and one like a mermaid with a pink tail. A horsea, seel, goldeen, staryu, and starmie were positioned around the pair. A yellow banner stretched across the middle with the show's description written on it.

"Fantastic, exciting underwater ballet." Brock read off the poster, "Featuring a famous underwater star making her glorious return to Cerulean City." He looked at the date and perked up, "Oh wow. And it's tomorrow."

Ash and Psyduck perked up as their eyes widened. Togepi looked up at the poster curiously.

Pikachu squinted, "Doesn't she look kinda familiar?"

Clefairy tilted, "Actually, yeah. Now that you mention it."

Misty smiled, "A famous star? Woah, that actually sounds pretty-" She stopped, and her eyes widened in realization. She groaned, "Oh, freaking Yvel." She looked at her sisters; deadpanned, "This is the real reason you called me home?"

Brock looked at her in confusion before perking up and looking at the poster. He sweat dropped, "Oh…"

Clefairy raised a brow, "Huh?"

Psyduck looked up at her and sweat dropped, 'That "star" in the picture is Misty.'

Pikachu perked up, looked at the poster, and back at Misty, "Oooooh." He tensed up and frowned worriedly, "Oh…"

Togepi looked at the Duck Pokémon in confusion while pointing at the picture, "But why does meema's hair look like that. And why does she have blue meema's tail in the wrong color?"

Psyduck sweat dropped, "We'll explain later."

"Hey guys!" Violet called out as she appeared in the doorway. She gestured to the side, "Check it out!"

Electra jumped into view, turned around to reveal her hair in a ponytail, and glanced back while smiling happily, "Pika!"

Violet gestured to the side again, "And, it took a little convincing, but-" She looked over and frowned, "Wait, what happened to your ponytail?"

Soot walked into view, looked at her with a deadpanned expression, and shifted her eyes to their inherent state, "What do you think? You wouldn't take no for an answer." She shifted them back and looked into the pool area. She perked up and blinked in surprise upon seeing Misty's expression, "You okay, Mist?"

.

*Backroom

"You must be out of your freaking minds to think I'd agree to this!" Misty shouted at her sisters.

The trio of girls shied away from the outburst. Ash, Brock, Soot, Pikachu, Clefairy, Electra, and Togepi sat around the table in the middle of the room. The hatchling was sticking close to his self-appointed godmother while his meema berated his aunts.

Psyduck decided to be returned due to not wanting to have his name shouted at him during the drama. He also promised he would try to not bust himself out. Even he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise.

Lily smiled nervously and waved a hand, "C- come on, little sis, don't be like that."

Violet frowned, "Our aqua shows haven't been pulling crowds like before and we needed something more exciting."

Daisy nodded, "So we came up with the idea of doing a water ballet underwater."

Misty glared furiously, "And that's supposed to justify you tricking me?!" Her sisters flinched again.

Togepi frowned and looked up at Soot, "Are aunts gonna be okay? Meema looks really mad."

Soot frowned as her ears drooped, "Well…" She looked down at him while smiling, "I think meema could use a hug to feel better." 'Especially, before she says something she'll regret later.'

Togepi smiled happily, "I can do that!" He jumped down from the chair.

Violet put her hands together, "Please, Misty. We already, like, sold tons of tickets and spent a ton on advertising."

Lily frowned worriedly, "And we can't just let all those people down."

"And how exactly is that my fault?!" Misty shouted again, "You could've asked me about this before going this far, you-"

"Meema!"

Misty snapped out of it and looked down to find Togepi standing next to her leg. He was looking up at her happily while holding his arms up to her.

The orange haired sister smiled softly and kneeled down to pick him up. She pulled him into a hug, "Thanks, sweetie."

The Spike Ball Pokémon hugged her back.

The Sensational Sisters stared in shock. Ash, Brock, and the rest of the Pokémon sighed in relief.

Lily looked at Violet in shock while pointing at Misty. Violet looked back at her and shrugged.

Daisy cleared her throat, "Look, Misty, I'm sorry I didn't tell you why we wanted you to come home." She smiled hopefully, "But the fact that you haven't stormed out must mean you're not completely against the idea, right?"

Misty shot her a harsh glance, "The only reason I'm still in the building is because I promised my team some time off. I'm staying until the day after tomorrow. That's it."

Daisy frowned.

"Well, if you're staying no matter what, then what's the harm in doing just one show?" Violet asked.

Lily nodded, "This first show is the trial run, and we need your help to make sure it goes well. It could totally ruin our reputation if the show bombs."

Misty glared, "We are a main eight Gym. That is supposed to be our reputation." After a second, she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Which I'm now realizing will only decrease even more if this show goes poorly. Not to mention how much money we'd lose if people want refunds."

Violet perked up and smiled happily, "So you'll do it?!"

Misty shot her a glare; making her flinch.

Everyone in the room flinched when they heard a pokéball burst open and looked over to find Misty's Duck Pokémon standing on the table.

Psyduck blinked in surprise and looked around before groaning, "Ah, son of a glitch." He looked at the four sisters and raised a hand, 'Sorry.' He jumped down from the table and sat back against one of the legs.

Ash took a deep breath and stood up; catching all of the sisters' attention. He looked at the viridian-eyed girl, "Look, Misty, I hate to say it, but Violet has a point. My Gym Battle isn't until the day after the show, and we can fly back to Viridian by noon that day and still have time. This isn't eating into our schedule at all. Lies aside, is there really any harm in going through with this?"

Misty frowned and looked down thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she sighed, "Right…" She looked at her sisters, "Okay, I'll do it on two conditions. First, my Water-types are allowed to join in as actors or deny the offer if they want."

Lily blinked in surprise, "Oh, um … yeah, I guess that's-"

"And second," Misty interrupted before pointing a thumb at Ash, "my friends all get to watch the show for free. And not from the nosebleed section."

Electra and Clefairy's eyes widened, "The what?"

Pikachu looked at Soot warily, "That's an expression, right?"

Soot sweat dropped, "Sorta."

Ash tensed up and waved his hands, "Wait, that's really not nece-"

Daisy held out a hand to Misty, "Deal."

Ash sweat dropped.

Misty sighed and shook her hand, "Alright. What do I need to do?"

Lily raised a finger and smiled determinedly, "We'll start with a quick rehearsal. Meet us at the pool in ten minutes."

Misty nodded, "Alright."

Daisy, Violet, and Lily rushed out of the room.

Soot looked at Misty with a raised brow, "Y'know, I kinda thought you'd add a third condition like 'you can't trick me into crag like this anymore'."

Misty deadpanned, "That is a promise they will never be able to keep." She shook it off and looked back at the watch user, "By the way, Ash, can I ask for a favor?"

Ash looked at her in surprise, "What is it?"

.

*Later; night

Misty opened the door to her room and looked around cautiously. She smiled, looked back at her bed, and whispered, "See you in the morning, Togepi."

Togepi yawned before snuggling into Soot's side, "Nigh' nigh' memuh…" He retracted his head into his shell.

Soot smiled at the Waterflower and whispered, "Have fun, Mist."

Misty smiled, "Thanks. And if my sisters come to check-"

"I phase my head through the door to see what they want. If they're insistent and want me to wake you up, I can try to do so and then throw a pillow at the door." Soot lifted her paw to reveal a tape recorder, "And I've got the recording of you saying, 'Would it kill them to wait until morning?' in case they press their ear against the door."

Misty gave a thumbs up, "Awesome." She left the room and slowly closed the door. She heard a light click as Soot locked it and then hurried down the hallway.

Misty came up to the entrance to the pool area and found Goldeen already in the water with Staryu on land next to her. She made sure not to step inside just yet.

This was because, after Ash's last visit, her sisters were finally convinced to install security cameras on the pool. Thankfully for Misty, Ash noticed them earlier and noted that the view didn't reach the hallway.

Staryu noticed their trainer and perked up, "Hiya."

Goldeen looked at her and smiled, "Gol goldeen."

Misty smiled and raised a finger, "Gimme a second." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Change Lens with a vaporeon silhouette on it before placing it on her chest. She looked around cautiously before slapping the disk and flashing green.

She then sat down and started using her forepaws to fumble with the device. After a moment, she smacked it again.

The disk turned blue, Lockdown Mode Engaged, Approximate time until release: five hours and thirty minutes.

The Bubble Jet Pokémon rushed into the pool area and smiled at the pair, "You ready?"

Goldeen smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Staryu looked at the device on her chest before pointing a spike, "But is five hours gonna be long enough or did I mishear that?"

Misty smiled at them, "Ash gave me two Lenses. I had the other one in my pocket."

Goldeen blinked and looked over her trainer's current body before sweat dropping, "Okay, then…" She shook it off and looked her in the eye, "And, did you-"

"I took everything else out of my pockets before leaving my room." Misty said.

Staryu nodded, "Alright then." They jumped into the pool.

Goldeen submerged as Misty jumped in. The Goldfish and Star Shape Pokémon led Misty through a large tunnel with an opened gate on each side.

Goldeen looked at Misty, "So Psyduck really wanted to just stay in his pokéball tonight? I thought he would've enjoyed seeing all of this."

Misty looked at her with a frown, "Well, I tried to invite him. But he said he still didn't feel comfortable deep di-" She looked ahead as they exited the tunnel, and her eyes widened in awe, "ving…"

All around the replica ocean-scape were every one of the Gym's Pokémon; most without a care in the world. Mollusk Pokémon were lounging around on the aquarium floor with crustaceans running around. Just about … everywhere else was some kind of fish Pokémon swimming either solo or in schools. There were also quite a few Pokémon already asleep on the floor or in a cave.

Seadra was in front of a crowd of Water-types including a pair of tentacool, a few goldeen and seaking, a red striped basculin, and Seel. From what Misty could overhear, he was talking about some of their adventures. Starmie was next to him, filling in the gaps and correcting him when necessary.

"It's beautiful…" Misty muttered happily; still looking around, "I had no idea it was like this in here."

Staryu looked at her, "Haven't you helped decorate the place?"

Misty smirked at them, "Well, yeah, but I've never seen it from this viewpoint." She looked at Seadra, "Come on. I wanna introduce myself." She raised a brow, "Again?"

She shook it off and started swimming over to him. Goldeen and Staryu followed.

"And that's how I joined Misty!" Seadra said happily.

The Gym's Pokémon all stared blankly. All of them looked at the pair of tentacool.

Tentacool raised his tentacles defensively, "Hey, don't look at us! We didn't have anything to do with that!"

The other tentacool nodded, "Yeah, it was all that overgrown guy, right?"

Starmie shrugged, "Technically, it was expired stun sauce and a psychopathic woman trying to exterminate your kind. Objectively speaking, he was attacking out of revenge and a bit of self-defense … at least, that's how Soot described it." They pointed at Seadra, "He was the only one actually there."

The second tentacool blinked in shock, "Freaking Yvel…"

Seel noticed the Bubble Jet, Goldfish, and Star Shape Pokémon approaching and perked up, "Oh." He cleared his throat; blushing lightly, "Hey, um, Seadra?" He pointed at the eeveelution, "Is she one of your teammates?"

Seadra looked at him before looking back and taking on an excited expression, "Misty!" He shot over and nuzzled up to her, "You're here!"

The other Water-types perked up in surprise.

Seel perked up and blinked, "Huh?"

Basculin stared in surprise, "Wait, Misty?" She looked at Starmie, "Your trainer named a Pokémon after herself?"

Starmie snickered, "Not exactly."

Seel looked at them in confusion.

Misty looked at the crowd, smiled happily, and swam over. Starmie, Goldeen, and Seadra followed.

The trainer came up to the group of her family's Water-types and looked around at them; still smiling.

One of the goldeen looked at her in confusion, "Um … hi?" He looked at Starmie, "So, did she just evolve recently, or…" He trailed off.

"That I did not." Misty responded happily, "Just … sorry. I'm just kind of excited to see all of you again. Especially like this."

Seel, the two tentacool, Basculin, and one of the seaking flinched upon recognizing the voice and looked at her in pure shock. Goldeen smirked and Seadra chuckled.

A different seaking raised a brow, "Again?"

Misty chuckled, "I'll just start with this." She moved to straighten herself in midwater, put a forepaw on her hip, waved her other forepaw, and put on a smile that some of them recognized instantly, "Misty Waterflower. It's nice to formally meet you all."

The Water-types all stared in shock. A few of the surrounding ones within earshot perked up and looked over in surprise.

"huh?" Seel muttered blankly.

.

**Short Skip**

Not long after the initial shock from Misty's self-introduction, a huge crowd of Water-types gathered around to hear … how. After the explanation and more than a few follow up questions, everyone was now convinced that either the vaporeon was actually Misty or this was her and her team playing a very elaborate prank.

Regardless, they all moved to the bottom of the tank for convenience. Misty sat across from her Gym's Pokémon with her team all around her.

"S- so…" Tentacool stuttered, "this Ash kid has this watch thing that turns him into Pokémon."

Misty shrugged, "Et cetera."

The red-striped basculin blinked, "Sure. And … then he made these disk things-"

"Change Lenses." Staryu corrected.

"Change Lenses." The Hostile Pokémon continued, "That let you do the same."

Misty smiled, "Technically, they work on any human."

Seel stared in shock, "And you're a … meema."

The Bubble Jet Pokémon smiled happily, "Yeah, Togepi. He's just the cutest. I just wish I could've brought him here to meet you all." She perked up and raised her paws defensively, "Oh and I found his egg. I have had this conversation before."

Some of the surrounding Pokémon seemed to relax a little more from hearing that.

Shellder looked at the Waterflower girl again, "So … 'Misty', no offence but why did you come in here?"

Misty smiled, "Honestly, I just wanted to try this. Y'know, see the place, have some fun, introduce myself … again, and maybe get to know you all better or get some suggestions."

A mantyke blinked in surprise, "Suggestions?"

Misty shrugged, "I don't know. Stuff to make you more comfortable? As long as it's reasonable, I can relay it to my sisters so it can actually happen." She smiled, "And best part, I have a telepathic psyduck, so I have a believable excuse for knowing all of this."

Everyone stared blankly. A large handful shared a look in pairs or trios. Someone further back stared in surprise before gulping.

A blue-striped basculin looked at her with an unsure expression, "W- well, we appreciate it … Misty. But I think we're good."

A corphish nodded, "Yeah, we don't wanna impose-"

"I wanna be in Gym Battles!" Someone blurted out.

Everyone perked up and looked over at a poliwag.

The Tadpole Pokémon tensed up and frowned nervously, "Uh, I, um-" He turned away, "S- sorry, I'll just-"

"No, wait." He looked over again to find Misty swimming over the crowd and up to him. She sat down and smiled, "You were saying?"

Poliwag blinked in surprise before frowning anxiously, "Uh, w- well, I- I …" He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and blurting out, "I wanna start training to battle! I wanna get stronger, evolve into a poliwhirl and then a poliwrath, and be in Gym Battles! I've-" He looked down anxiously, "I've wanted that for … for a long time…" He perked up when he felt a paw on his head and looked ahead curiously.

Misty smiled happily, "Well then, I'll have to make sure to tell my sisters that."

The crowd of Water-types stared in surprise.

Poliwag's eyes widened, "Y- you mean it?"

Misty grinned, "You bet. If anything, my sisters might actually be really happy about it. They ran out of battling Pokémon once before."

Poliwag's eyes lit up as he smiled brightly. He jumped forward and nuzzled her, "Thank you, Misty!"

Misty smiled softly and patted him on the back, "You're welcome, Poliwag."

All of the other Pokémon not on Misty's team stared in surprise. Misty's Pokémon watched calmly.

Misty smiled at the crowd, "Now, anyone else?" She grinned, "I'm here all night."

After a moment, someone swam up to her, "Would it be alright if I joined your team?"

Misty perked up and blinked in surprise. Seadra, Goldeen, Staryu, and Starmie stared in surprise before sharing a look.

.

*The following morning

Violet drowsily walked down one of the Gym's hallways and passed by one of the tanks. After a second, she perked up -feeling much more awake-, took a few steps back, and looked at one of the tanks in surprise.

Inside, she saw a vaporeon lying on the ground and cuddling its own tail to its chest. It was surrounded by a seadra, goldeen, staryu, starmie, basculin, shellder, clamperl, and her and her sisters seel. All of them slept soundly on the ground.

The blue haired girl blinked in surprise before looking back the way she came and called out, "Hey, Lily! Since when did we have a vaporeon?!"

"We have a vaporeon?!" Lily called out in shock.

Misty stirred awake from the noise and looked towards the glass drowsily. She immediately flinched and grimaced when she saw one of her sisters looking away. She quickly closed her eyes and dissolved into the water. None of her team or the other Pokémon woke up.

Violet looked back and perked up in surprise, "What the?" She looked around the tank in confusion.

Lily rushed over and practically skidded to a halt before looking around frantically, "Where is it?!"

They both failed to notice the Bubble Jet Pokémon peek around the corner and rush down a hallway.

Violet looked at her in confusion before pointing at the tank, "Well, it was asleep with all of those Pokémon. But when I looked away, it was, like, nowhere to be seen."

Lily looked at the sleeping Water-types before perking up, "Wait, aren't most of those Misty's Pokémon?"

Violet looked at her in surprise before looking at the Pokémon again. Her eyes widened, "You're right!" She looked at her sister again, "But, I thought Misty didn't have a vaporeon."

Lily blinked in surprise, "So where did it-"

"Is everything alright?"

The sisters perked up and looked over to see Ash looking at them in confusion.

Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry. I heard shouting and came over to see what's up."

Violet frowned and pointed at the tank, "Well, like I told Lily, I thought I saw a vaporeon in the aquarium. But we sure as Yvel don't have one and I don't think Misty does either."

Ash perked up, "Oh, that might've been my vaporeon." He smiled at Misty's team, "He's really gotten along with-"

"Vaporeon is yours?!" The sisters blurted out; making him flinch. The Pokémon in the tank jerked awake and looked around in shock.

Violet smiled excitedly, "You've gotta let us use it in the underwater ballet!"

Lily nodded excitedly, "We'll even let you watch the show for free-" She perked up and glanced away, "Oh, right, we're already doing that." She smiled at Ash again, "We'll pay you!"

Ash smiled nervously and waved his hands, "I- I appreciate the offer, but that isn't gonna work." He frowned, "Vaporeon is really shy around strangers. Even more so with crowds. Yvel, he's usually too shy to battle unless it's against a close friend." His frowned turn apologetic, "I'm sorry, but he literally can't help in the show."

Lily pouted sourly and crossed her arms, "Aw man."

Violet sighed, "Well it was a nice thought." She looked at her sister, "Come on, we should get ready."

Lily nodded, "Alright." The pair turned and walked back down the hallway.

After they were out of sight, Ash sighed in relief and gave a thumbs up to Misty's Pokémon.

Misty's team nodded before swimming off towards the pool. Seel, Basculin, Clamperl, and Shellder watched in surprise.

Ash walked back the way he came, entered his room, and closed the door behind him.

"How'd it go?" Brock asked.

Misty sat on the bed next to him along with Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra. Brock was sitting in a chair next to the bed.

Ash smiled, "I had to use the cover story earlier than expected. Though they wanted 'Vaporeon' to perform in the show, so I had to throw in that 'he' was too shy to perform. They were disappointed but understood. Even covered a few bases by saying 'he' is too shy to battle."

Misty sighed in relief and laid down, "Oh, thank Ar-" She perked up and looked at Ash; deadpanned, "Wait, you told them I was a guy?"

Ash shrugged, "You guys know as well as anyone that most humans can't differentiate Pokémon genders when there isn't an identifier." He held a hand to the side, "Besides, if I said 'my vaporeon' was female, there's a chance they could've asked if she could have…" He cleared his throat, "given them an eevee or two…"

Misty tensed up and frowned uncomfortably, "Okay, fair point." Everyone else in the room sweat dropped.

The Water-type sweat dropped, "Though, now I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if they thought I was wild and-" She perked up and her eyes widened. She looked at Ash, "Wait, can Brock and I be caught?"

The Mouse and Fairy Pokémon all perked up. Ash frowned as his eyes widened.

Brock looked around in confusion before looking at Ash in concern, "What did she say?"

Ash looked at him, "She asked if you two can be caught." He looked down worriedly, "And I'm now realizing we haven't taken care of that."

Misty stared in shock, "So it is possible?!"

The watch user groaned shamefully, "Completely possible."

The room went silent. The Gym Leaders frowned worriedly and shared a look.

Brock looked at Ash, "So, what do we do? Catch ourselves like you did?"

Ash put a hand to his chin, "That may not be the best idea. At least, not just yet." He looked at Misty, "If your sisters saw you caught a vaporeon, we'd be in the same situation as before. Only worse because they'd see your gender on the account."

Misty frowned worriedly, "hm…"

Ash looked at Brock, "And you're only one away from a full team. If you caught yourself and met another Pokémon who wanted to join you, you'd have to choose whether to send someone on your team home or send your family an empty pokéball with an explanation. It's not an immediate problem but it's something to consider, none the less."

Brock sweat dropped, "Fair enough. What options do we have left?"

Ash smiled, "I have something in mind. Though, it'll have to wait until we get to Pallet Town."

Brock raised a brow, "What? Why until-" He perked up and nodded, "Oh, right. Professor Oak knows about all of this."

"yeah…" Ash responded with an awkward smile. Pikachu and Clefairy looked at their trainer in confusion.

Misty smiled, "Works for me." She jumped down and walked over to the door, "Now, I gotta get back to my room."

Ash looked at her, "Remember to avoid your sisters. See if you can find a route they don't take too often."

Misty looked back at him; deadpanned.

"…" Ash sweat dropped, "Point taken."

.

*Misty's room

Togepi looked at the door anxiously before looking at Soot, "What time is meema coming back, again?"

Soot looked at him, "It's hard to say. Remember that the Lockdown timer is random. Could be a few more minutes, could be-"

The Dark-type and Fairy-type perked up when they heard water swishing and looked over to see a puddle flowing under the door. The fluid then began shifting and moving upward.

"two seconds." Soot finished.

Misty reformed and shivered uncomfortably, "Ugh. I still don't get why that only feels weird on land."

Togepi smiled happily, jumped down from the bed, and ran up to her, "Meema!" He ran into her and hugged her tightly.

Misty smiled softly, hugged him back, and nuzzled him, "Morning, sweetie."

Soot raised a brow, "Y'know you could've knocked so I could phase you through the door, right?"

Misty looked at her, "Yeah, but I wanted to see if it still felt weird."

Soot shrugged, "Fair." She smiled, "Did you have fun last night?"

Misty smiled, "Oh, Yvel yeah. It took a while to convince everyone, but I think it went pretty well." She sweat dropped, "Though, uh … can you write?"

Soot blinked in surprise, "Well enough that it's mostly readable." She raised a brow, "Why?"

"I need to get started on a list before I forget anything." Misty continued before raising a paw, "Pretty sure I can't write with these."

Soot nodded, "Ah." She looked around the room, spotted a pencil, and looked at Misty, "Where do you keep the paper?"

.

*Later that day; backstage

Misty took a deep breath and peeked past the curtain to the massive audience waiting for the show to start.

She spotted her friends near the front and smiled. Ash, Brock, and Soot were the only ones actually taking up any seats. Pikachu and Clefairy were in Ash's lap with a small drink and candy bar -respectively-, Electra was in Brock's lap as they shared a bag of popcorn, and Togepi was on Soot's head and looking ahead excitedly.

In the pool below, her team and the other Water-types were waiting and possibly doing last minute prep before the show. Her only Water-type not in the pool was Psyduck. He decided to stay in his Pokéball since he didn't want to perform and since Misty would be out of earshot. Thankfully he could watch the show later from the security feed.

"Looks like a big crowd." Misty said before looking over at the Water-type next to her and perked up in surprise, "You okay, Seel?"

Seel flinched and looked at her nervously, "Y- yeah. Totally fine." He chuckled nervously.

Misty smiled sadly, "Pre-show jitters?"

The Sea Lion Pokémon blinked and glanced through the curtain for a moment. He looked back at her and nodded, "Yeah, jitters. Let's go with that."

The Cerulean girl kneeled down and petted him, "Hey, don't worry. We'll be fine out there."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Daisy's voice came from the loudspeaker; catching the attention of the pair, "Thank you for your patience! Our underwater ballet, 'The magical mermaid,' performed by the exciting and talented Cerulean Sensational Sisters is about to begin!"

Misty smiled, "Showtime." She looked back at the Water-type, "See ya in the pool."

Seel saluted with a determined glare before dragging himself away.

The rims of the pool folded away as the entire body of water began moving upward; revealing a massive glass tank. The crowd began muttering in awe at the sight.

Electra's eyes lit up as she stared in awe, "Insane."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Wait, so … did they actually install this just because of this show or is this part of how they got the idea?"

Ash frowned, "I'm more concerned by the fact that the Gym's battlefield is surrounded by glass." He perked up and raised a brow, "Actually never mind. If they got this legalized by the League, it's probably plenty durable."

Pikachu took the straw out of his mouth and looked over the tank, "For their sake, I hope so."

A light at the bottom of the tank turned on to reveal a small group of Pokémon and the ocean-like setting around them. Seel, Starmie, Staryu, Seadra, Goldeen as well as four more of her kind, and the seaking and shellder who were talking with them last night. The floor of the tank was decorated with various props like coral, large rocks, and an underwater cave.

"Once upon a time," Daisy's voice announced again, "in a beautiful, peaceful lagoon, there lived happy water Pokémon who spent many playful hours with their lovely friend."

A spotlight turned on to reveal Misty at the top of the diving board with her arms out and a smile on her face. She had a light blue mermaid tail with a yellow star on her hip, wore a pink seashell top, a shell necklace, and pearls in her hair which had extensions obvious to everyone that knew her personally.

"The magical mermaid!"

The crowd cheered.

Togepi smiled brightly and waved his arms, "Meema!"

Misty glanced down at him and smiled softly; despite the crowds loud cheering. She looked back ahead and hopped up once before jumping and diving into the water below.

Her team and the performers all swam up to her and began moving around her playfully. Seel came up as she took his flippers and began playing around with him. At the same time, Seaking and the goldeen formed a line and began swimming around the pair.

After a moment, the girl swam off into the cave with a few goldeen following her; making it seem like a game of tag. She hurriedly swam through the tunnel and broke through to an air pocket in the fixture.

She sighed and muttered, "Seriously wishing I had Ash's lung capacity." She took a deep breath and dove under again.

The goldeen all exited the other side of the cave followed by Misty.

Togepi watched in awe, "Woah. Meema's so cool!"

Clefairy smiled brightly, "Yeah. She's really good at this."

After a few more minutes of all of play, the Pokémon began lying down around an oversized clamshell with a large pink cushion on the bottom. Most dozed off almost immediately.

Misty swam down to sit in the shell.

"Everyone in the calm lagoon passed day after day in joyous song and dance, and they happily frolicked and played, before drifting off into a peaceful sleep."

Misty stretched with her eyes closed before lying back in the shell.

"The Magical Mermaid's water Pokémon all lived their lives in peace and harmony." The recording continued as the shell began closing around Misty.

After it closed, Misty quickly reached under the cushion, pulled out a small rebreather, and put it in her mouth. She took a deep breath before sighing in relief.

"Until one day," The voiceover continued as a spotlight shined on the diving board again, "two terrible villains appeared."

The group looked up before tensing up and deadpanning.

Up on the diving board stood Jessie and James wearing a blue prince outfit and frilly pink tutu. And yes, both were crossdressing again.

"Oh, freaking Yvel." Pikachu complained.

"Here I was starting to think they got fired." Ash said.

"Yeah." Soot followed, "I guess we weren't that lucky." She looked at her father, "So should we go check on Misty's sisters or do something about them?"

"Misty's sisters." Ash said as Pikachu and Clefairy got out of his lap and he stood up, "Growlie and Meowth aren't up there, so they might be keeping them captive."

He looked at the Mouse, Fairy, and Spike Ball Pokémon, "Electra, Pikachu, Clefairy, stay here with Togepi. Not sure we should risk you shocking the water and I know underwater battles aren't your forte. If anyone tries something, hiss. If necessary, you have permission to shock and/or Wake-Up Slap them."

Everyone nodded as Togepi jumped down from Soot's head to stand next to Pikachu. Brock stood up and put Electra in his seat. Ash, Brock, and Soot hurried to their right.

The Rockets each put a rebreather in their mouths and dove into the pool.

"Then, the evil villains crept into the magical mermaid's Pokémon hideaway."

The Water-types all looked over in faux surprise; expecting to see Lily and Violet swimming their way. Misty's team tensed up immediately.

"Oh crag!" Seadra cried out.

Goldeen glared and looked back at the actors, "We're under attack!"

Another goldeen blinked in surprise, "Wow. You're actually taking this pretty seriously."

Seaking raised a brow, "But you do know humans can't understand us, right? We don't have any lines."

Starmie shot in front of him and spoke harshly, "This isn't an act! Those two are actual criminals!"

"And the ones responsible for the huge tentacruel thing." Staryu added.

Shellder's eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

Seadra noticed the shell slowly opening and shot over to his trainer. Misty looked at him in surprise as he began rambling wildly and pointing his nose towards Jessie and James.

Misty blinked in confusion before looking over and grimacing. She grabbed and put the rebreather back in her mouth and jumped up from the shell while glaring at the pair.

Jessie and James stopped swimming towards them and began posing and dancing in the water.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie called out with an arm out.

"And make it double!" James followed in the same fashion.

Jessie swam back and began doing pirouettes in midwater, "To protect the world from devastation!"

James mirrored her again, "To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

The pair positioned themselves for Jessie to hold James up with one hand.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

Of course, only the Water-types heard any of that. Those out of the loop stared in confusion. Misty only saw swarms of bubbles leave the pair's mouths from behind the rebreather and a few faint gurgles every so often.

"Are we sure this isn't part of the act?" Seel asked.

Misty glanced around at her team in confusion.

Staryu noticed, swam to the ground, and drew 'mto' in the sand.

Misty perked up, 'Oh, their motto.' She gave them a thumbs up.

The crowd began clapping and cheering at the non-scheduled performance.

Jessie smiled happily and waved at the crowd, "Ah, they love us! We're killing them."

James did the same, "I always knew we were destined for greatness!" He reached into a pocket on his tutu, pulled out a remote, and held it out, "Now, to steal the show!" He pressed a button.

Everyone in the building flinched as a large explosion rang out above. They looked upward as a green hot air balloon basket began descending through the newly-blown hole. Growlie and Meowth could be seen in the basket.

Misty groaned, 'Oh, come on. Again?'

"Hey," A guy in the crowd asked his friend, "are we sure this is part of the show?"

She nodded, "Of course, it is. Who'd be stupid enough to attack a main eight Gym for real? Especially during a public performance?"

"Yeah, good point." The guy admitted.

Pikachu looked at the pair behind him in shock, 'Are you kidding, right now?! There is a hole in the roof!'

Daisy threw the curtain aside and looked up in shock; still in her normal clothes, "What the Yvel?!" She watched in confusion as a large capsule dropped down from the balloon and into the water. Her eyes widened when the capsule broke out into a net and dropped down towards Misty and the Pokémon.

Misty's Pokémon scattered and Misty tackled Seel out of the way of the net. But the seaking, the other goldeen, and the shellder all got caught. Luckily Starmie reacted first and cut through the cable reaching towards the balloon. It shot down to do the same to the net but was Headbutted away by an Arbok that suddenly emerged from a pokéball.

The blond flinched when she saw the people who drove a vacuum into the Gym swim over and grab the net. Misty glared and swam over to grab the net as well. They ended up in a tug-of-war match over it.

Misty's Pokémon all shot towards the attackers. The Cobra Pokémon glared and shot towards Misty's Pokémon in response; forcing them to split up.

"But just when it looked like all was lost," Daisy perked up and looked up as her recording kept going, "a charming and totally handsome prince arrived to save the day!"

She grimaced, "Oh crag!" She hurried back through the curtain and looked down worriedly, 'What am I supposed to-'

"Daisy!"

The blond snapped out of it and looked over as Ash, Brock, and Soot ran up to her.

Daisy frowned worriedly, "Hey, what's going on?! Why are those crazy guys from your Gym Battle back?!"

Soot frowned, "Put simply, they're here to kidnap your Pokémon."

Brock held out a hand, "But, more importantly, where are your sisters?"

Daisy blinked in surprise, "My sis-" She perked up and looked back at the curtain. Her eyes widened fearfully as she started looking around frantically, "Lily! Violet! Where are you?!"

Everyone flinched when they heard banging from one of the lockers. Ash ran up and tore the door off its hinges. Violet and Lily fell out and crashed to the ground. Both were wearing dark color pirate outfits, had their mouths taped, and wrists tied together.

Ash blinked in surprise, looked at the door in his hand, and sweat dropped before putting it on the ground, 'I knew I should've used the workout gym at Cinnabar.'

Soot hurried up to the girls on the ground and put her paws on their heads, "Hold still." She shifted her eyes.

All three sisters perked up in surprise when the rope and tape fell off the pink and blue haired girls.

Brock kneeled down and held out a hand to Violet, "You're not hurt, right?"

Violet took his hand and pulled herself up, "I'm okay. Thanks."

Lily scrambled to her feet and looked at her blond sister frantically, "Daisy, something's totally wrong! Those lunatics who tried to steal our pool are here!"

Violet nodded rapidly, "They tied us up, stole some of our costumes, and were saying some weird stuff about 'playing the villains' or something!"

Soot perked up and looked at the curtain, "Oh, that's why they're dressed like that."

Violet perked up and looked at her in confusion, "Huh?"

The Bite Pokémon looked at her, "Oh, sorry. Those guys, they're in the tank with Misty."

Lily and Violet flinched and looked at her fearfully, "What?!"

Daisy frowned worriedly, "Yeah. We have to do something."

Ash raised a hand, "I'm on it." He hurried towards the curtain.

"Wait a second!" Daisy said before opening a different locker; making everyone look at her.

She pulled out a silver crown, the fake sword from rehearsal, and a white top for the prince outfit and handed them to Ash, "Slip this on, quick."

Soot tried to hold back a laugh.

Ash sweat dropped, "Is that really necessary?"

Daisy nodded, "The show says a prince goes to help the mermaid and I don't think the crowd realizes this isn't an act. Just put this stuff on and get out there."

Ash sighed, "Fine." He slipped on the article of clothing, took the crown and fake sword, and ran towards the curtain before throwing it aside. He ran up to the diving board and glanced down at the pool. He perked up in surprise and stopped just short of reaching it.

Brock and Soot looked at him in surprise. The Waterflowers stared in shock and hurried over.

"What are you waiting for?!" Violet asked fearfully.

"Misty needs help!" Daisy demanded.

Ash smiled, "Actually, I don't think she does."

The sisters perked up and looked down at the tank in surprise. Brock and Soot ran up, looked as well, and smiled.

Misty removed her rebreather and called out, "Seadra, water-style Ice Beam doesn't work right underwater! Dragon Pulse and Signal Beam only! Goldeen, your Aqua Ring won't be visible but will still work so don't worry! Starmie, keep Seel safe!"

"Got it!" The quartet called out.

Starmie broke off and shot towards Seel. Arbok glared and opened his mouth to fire a swarm of white needles at the Mysterious Pokémon. Seel stared fearfully.

Staryu shot over and fired Swift into the oncoming Poison Sting. Seadra and Goldeen shot past them.

Seadra inhaled and fired Dragon Pulse. Goldeen followed with Ice Beam.

Arbok grimaced and managed to dodge Ice Beam before getting blasted back by Dragon Pulse. He recovered in the water and shook it off.

The Poison-type glared and shot towards the pair. Goldeen rushed up to him in response. Arbok opened his mouth and tried to Bite Goldeen. Goldeen ducked under the attack and shot back up to hit him in the chin with Horn Attack. Arbok grimaced as his mouth was forcibly closed.

Seadra flanked Arbok and blasted him away with Signal Beam.

"CHAA!" Arbok cried out as he tumbled back.

Seel stared at the pair in awe as Starmie stood in front of him defensively. Goldeen and Seadra glared at the Cobra Pokémon.

Daisy stared at her youngest sister in awe, "Woah…"

"Look at her go." Violet said; equally awestruck.

Soot smirked, "Yeah. All that training's really paid off."

Ash nodded, "I'd say Misty has this under control."

Lily looked at him, "Okay but you still have to go in and do something like the script says. We can't, like, let people know this is real."

Ash sighed, "Alright, alright." He grabbed a pokéball from his belt, enlarged it, and was about to say something to the Pokémon inside. He perked up when he saw a new shadow over the pool and looked up at the balloon. His eyes widened in shock.

.

*Tank; seconds earlier

Jessie gritted her teeth as Arbok got blasted away by Signal Beam, "Crag."

James tapped her on the shoulder -catching her attention- and pointed back. Jessie nodded before she and James grabbed the net again.

Before they could get anywhere, Staryu shot over and launched them back with Water Gun; resulting in a rough current.

"GAH!" The human Rockets cried out as the attack shoved them away.

Misty glared and removed her rebreather again, "Good job, Staryu! Goldeen, get everyone out of there!"

The Goldfish Pokémon nodded and shot towards the net. Goldeen got her horn under one of the ropes and started tugging in an attempt to break it. Staryu stood guard between her and the Rockets.

Goldeen noticed something above and looked up. Her eyes widened in shock before she looked at her teammate, "Star-" She was cut off as a beam of white energy cleaved through the water and engulfed her and the Pokémon in the net.

The impact shot a wave over the tank and soaked the bottommost tier of the crowd. Despite that, the crowd erupted into cheer again; still thinking this was part of the act.

Someone looked down at the now soaked aisle and frowned, "Aw man. I didn't know there was a splash zone."

The beam faded and Goldeen fell to the ground. All of the other goldeen, Seaking, and Shellder were limp in the net. All of their eyes were swirling.

Staryu stared in pure shock before looking up. They flinched as Lickitung crashed into the water and right on top of them with Stomp.

Lickitung quickly wrapped his tongue around Staryu and Slammed them into a nearby rock.

"Ugh." Staryu groaned as they slid down the rock to stand on the ground. Their gem started flickering.

Jessie recovered, smirked, held out a pokéball, and returned her Normal-type. James smiled happily.

Seadra, Starmie, and Seel stared in shock.

Misty stared at her knocked-out Pokémon in shock, 'What?!' She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw a victreebel hanging from the balloon basket with Vine Whip, 'When did they get a victreebel?!'

.

*Balloon basket

"Ha ha!" Meowth laughed excitedly, "We actually knocked 'em out!" He looked to his side, "I can't believe ya plan woiked!"

Growlie smiled at him, "Well, out of all of us, only Arbok can really battle underwater. That just left long range, non-Fire-type attacks and diving based one-shots like Body Slam or Stomp."

He glanced away and sweat dropped, 'Still, would've been smarter to do this after the show so they'd be more worn out and there wouldn't be any witnesses.' He propped himself up against the rim to look down at his human teammates and smiled softly, 'But they just seemed so excited for this.'

"Hey, uh," Victreebel called out while looking up at the basket, "can I get back in now?"

Growlie perked up and looked at her, "Oh, yeah. Sorry."

The Flycatcher Pokémon reeled herself back up and over the ledge before landing in the basket.

Growlie smiled at her, "Alright, now get back to Stockpiling." He looked back down at the water, "This time, stop around … well, aim for three but try to be prepared to fire at two. We might need to act sooner incase the Phantom tries something."

Victreebel nodded, "Got it." She looked ahead and her eyes narrowed as all three of her leaves lit up white.

Meowth blinked in surprise while looking at Growlie, 'Huh…'

.

*Ash, Soot, Brock, and Waterflowers

Ash, Soot, and Brock stared up at the balloon in shock.

Violet stared at Victreebel in shock, "What the Yvel was that?! Hyper Beam?!"

Soot grimaced while looking up at the Grass/Poison-type, "Worse. Spit Up. And, by the looks of that blast, it came from about five Stockpiles. That's double the power of an Explosion."

Daisy flinched and looked at her in shock, "What?! There's a move that powerful?!"

Brock looked at her, "Well, technically no. Spit Up's power depends on how many times the Pokémon uses Stockpile before using it. Using Stockpile as much as Victreebel did would take too long in a normal battle." He looked up at the basket, "But when did they even have a victreebel? They went along with this, so they couldn't have been stolen, right?"

Soot frowned, "I'm more concerned at the fact that they came up with an effective ambush."

Ash glared up at the basket, turned, and ran back into the dressing room; making the sisters look at him in surprise.

He found and grabbed Misty's pokéballs, ran back to the diving board, and quickly said something to the Pokémon in his own pokéball.

He took a deep breath and jumped off the diving board. The sound of the board shaking caught the audience's attention.

The Mouse, Fairy, and Spike Ball Pokémon's eyes widened in surprise.

Ash front flipped, straightened himself, and crossed his arms over his head for a little flare before landing in the water feet first. Everyone else in the tank looked over in surprise before he blew a strong puff of air and shrouded himself in bubbles. A white flash burst out from inside the shroud.

The bubbles cleared to reveal Ash glaring at the assailants while pointing the prop sword at them. Arbok was next to him and brandishing a Poison Jab extending from the tip of his tail.

Jessie, James, and Arbok stared at them in shock. Meowth looked down from the balloon and his eyes widened in shock.

Growlie looked as well and blinked in surprise, "Oh, that's new." He looked back at Victreebel as she continued Stockpiling.

Misty stared in confusion before perking up in realization, 'Oh. "The show must go on".' She smirked, 'Not a bad entrance.'

Ash glanced down at himself and put a hand to his chest, 'Well, pretty sure that cost me three minutes.' He smirked, 'Nine to go. Thank you, Blast-'

"SINCE WHEN DID THE TWERP HAVE AN ARBOK?!" Jessie screamed.

Ash, the Water-types, and the Poison-types flinched from the outburst. James and Misty flinched and looked as well; more surprised by the volume of the outburst.

Ash perked up in surprise upon realizing he heard that clearly and put a hand to his ear, 'Huh. Neat.'

.

*Diving platform

Lily stared in confusion, "Wait, why's Ash using an arbok? Wouldn't a Water Pokémon be better?"

Soot smirked, "Honestly, pretty sure it's because his Poison Jab goes along with the sword." Her eyes narrowed, "But, in all seriousness, Arbok's not a bad choice."

Brock smiled and crossed his arms, "Reptilian serpent Pokémon are able to battle underwater just as efficiently as any Water-type. They can hold their breath for up to half an hour without consequence."

Lily and Daisy stared at the Poison-types in surprise, "Woah."

Violet frowned, "But will that really be enough?"

Soot smiled, "Well, there's another reason. Arbok's a relatively new addition to the team, and these guys don't know about him in the slightest. Yvel, I doubt they even know he's a speed pattern." She grinned, "Whereas we've battled them and their arbok countless times."

Violet stared blankly, 'Speed pattern?'

Daisy blinked in surprise, "Wait, what do you mean 'countless times'? The lady didn't use an arbok when they attacked with the vacuum."

Brock looked at her, "Oh, I guess Misty didn't tell you." He pointed a thumb up at the balloon basket, "We actually run into them in almost every city, town, and village we pass through. Sometimes they even try to ambush us while we're camping."

Soot nodded, "We're pretty sure they're following us so they can kidnap me. Thankfully, they're terrible at their job."

The three sisters stared at them blankly before looking back down at the tank.

.

*Tank

Ash swam up to Misty, knelt down, and held a hand to her before shooting a quick glance to the crowd. Misty perked up as she caught on, smiled, and took his hand. She nodded. Ash smiled and stood back up.

Misty glanced over at the Mysterious Pokémon.

Starmie noticed, nodded, and glanced back at Seel, "Just stay behind me. We'll handle this."

Seel nodded, "Okay."

Ash glanced at the Rockets before looking at the girl in the mermaid costume, "Misty."

Misty heard the gurgle and looked at him. Ash held up a finger and started moving it over in short jerking bursts like a clock hand. He then held out a hand and clenched it forcefully.

Misty's eyes narrowed as she removed her rebreather, "We should try to wrap this up quickly."

Ash smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Misty glared at the Rockets, "Sounds good to-" She perked up and looked at Ash in shock, "Wait … can you hear what I'm saying?"

Ash smiled and shrugged. He tapped the face of the watch, tapped his ear, and then pointed a finger gun.

Misty deadpanned, "Blastoise made this possible for you…" She groaned and put a hand on her head, "Freaking Yvel, what I wouldn't give for that."

The trainer smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

Misty put the rebreather back in her mouth to take a deep breath and removed it again to sigh, "Ah, whatever." She glared ahead, "Seadra and I will handle Arbok. Can I trust you to get the net?" She chuckled, "Stupid question. Good luck." She put the rebreather back in her mouth.

Ash smiled and said "Thanks." in the form of another gurgle. He glared ahead and pointed, "Arbok!"

The Cobra Pokémon nodded, "Right!" He shot towards the pair.

Jessie's Arbok noticed, glared, and started hurrying to intercept him. He was interrupted when Seadra decked him in the side and followed up with another Dragon Pulse.

Arbok started slashing all around frantically with the Poison Jab still on his tail. Jessie and James grimaced and jumped back; abandoning the net. A large cloud of dust was kicked up from Arbok's attack hitting the ground. Ash swam toward the cloud and disappeared into it.

Jessie and James stared at the dust cloud intently. Their eyes widened when two red beams shot out of it and absorbed Staryu and Goldeen. The dust faded to reveal Ash standing in front of the net with the prop sword in his mouth and two pokéballs in his hands. The boy smirked, put the balls into stasis, and pocketed them. He moved the prop sword back to his hand.

Misty noticed and smirked, 'Good call.'

Jessie glared, "Crag."

James tried to swim around to get to the net again. Arbok noticed and shot over to get in front of him. The blue haired man in the tutu flinched and moved back again.

Jessie removed her rebreather and glared at the Cobra Pokémon, "Arbok, cut it out!"

Arbok looked at her in surprise, glanced back at the other arbok, and then glanced back at Ash with a raised brow, "She realizes I'm not her arbok, right?"

Ash shrugged, "If that was about Jessie, I have no idea why she said that." He swung out an arm, "Rock Tomb! Surround the net!"

Arbok smirked as he took on a white outline. Jessie and James stared in shock as eight stone pillars appeared around and above Arbok before shooting back. They crashed down around Ash and the net and formed a wall all around them.

Ash jumped up from inside the barrier and moved to stand on one of the rocks.

Jessie's jaw dropped, 'Arbok can do that?!'

James frowned worriedly, 'Great. Now we can't get to them.' He perked up and looked up, 'Unless.' He smiled.

Ash's eyes widened and looked up as Victreebel moved into position in the air. He grimaced, looked back, and screamed, "MISTY!"

Misty looked at Ash and looked up. She glared, removed her rebreather, and shouted, "Starmie!"

The Water/Psychic-type shot upward towards Victreebel. Seel looked up at them in shock.

Starmie burst out of the water and into the air right as the Flycatcher Pokémon fired a massive white beam of energy from her mouth.

A large ball of water formed in front of Starmie's gem. They moved to face the oncoming attack and unleashed a massive geyser at it.

Spit Up and Hydro Pump collided in midair and exploded each other violently. A large cloud of mist filled the air between the balloon and tank.

Victreebel shielded her eyes with a leaf and shot out Vine Whip to grab onto the basket. She looked back down after the mist faded and saw Starmie standing on the rim of the tank with their two frontal forespikes glowing white.

Growlie looked down at them and his eyes widened. He looked at the Normal-type frantically, "Get Victreebel's pokéball, now!"

Meowth flinched and looked at him in alarm, "Huh?"

The glow moved up the spike and formed a pair of white spheres at the tips. The Water/Psychic-type reeled them back and clapped them together as the spheres erupted into a massive beam of silver energy.

Victreebel's eyes widened in shock as Flash Cannon shot up and engulfed her. "TREEEEEEEE!" She cried out.

The attack faded to reveal a scorched Victreebel still holding on to the basket with Vine Whip; eyes swirling.

Starmie let out a breath and spoke in a cold tone, "That was for my sibling." They jumped back into the tank. Seel looked at them in bright-eyed awe.

Meowth looked down at the Flycatcher Pokémon and frowned, "Oh…" He held out a pokéball and returned her. He looked at the Fire-type determinedly, "Okay, now whadda we do?"

Growlie sweat dropped and smiled nervously, "… prepare for blast-off." He hurried over to the other pokéball in the basket and return himself.

Meowth stared in shock before looking down at the pool.

.

*Pool

James frowned, "Aw ma- AH!" He cried out as Jessie's Arbok crashed into him.

The Poison-type continued back and got Jessie before all three slammed into a giant rock. They looked ahead and grimaced when they saw Ash's Arbok shooting towards them with four light blue bolts extending from his mouth. Arbok opened his mouth and hit the trio with Ice Fang. The humans and Cobra Pokémon didn't even get a chance to shout as the attack froze them in a giant block of ice.

Arbok shot back next to Ash.

Seadra shot up next to him, "Nice one-" He glanced at him and tensed up a bit. He chuckled nervously, "Sorry. Force of habit."

Arbok looked at him while pointing his tail ahead, "Oh, don't worry. I get it now." He looked ahead again, "So what usually happens next?"

Starmie shot over, "The send off!" Their spikes lit up white again as they charged up Flash Cannon.

Seadra glared determinedly as he charged Dragon Pulse.

Arbok blinked in surprise and moved back a bit, 'Not sure Rock Tomb will be able to help with this.'

Starmie and Seadra unleashed their attacks at the ice block and blew it the Yvel up.

"AH!/CHA!" Jessie, James, and Arbok cried out as they were thrown out of the water on a direct collision course with the balloon basket; shoving it up and out of the building.

"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket cried out as they off flew into the distance.

Daisy, Violet, and Lily sighed in relief. Arbok looked up curiously as they disappeared. He looked over at the Rock Tomb boulders and narrowed his eyes before they all burst out of existence.

Everyone still conscious in the tank swam up to the surface. Ash and Arbok took deep breaths and Misty removed her rebreather again to sigh in relief.

"Dear freaking Arceus," Misty muttered, "that was tougher than usual."

Ash chuckled, "No kidding. They actually had effective sneak attacks."

The crowd erupted into cheer. Everyone in the tank looked at them in surprise. Daisy, Violet, and Lily shared a look before smiling and applauding as well. Brock did the same.

Soot glanced down at her forepaws and pouted sourly. She sighed and smiled, "Aw, whatever."

Ash smiled, waved, and whispered to Misty, "I think the crowd thought this was all part of the show."

Misty tensed up, smiled nervously, and started waving too, "S- seriously?"

Ash chuckled nervously, "Yeah. I'll act as cleanup and get the others. You go on with the curtain call, so they don't find out and start panicking."

Misty gave a small nod, "Alright."

Ash took a deep breath and dove back into the water. Misty continued waving at the crowd and took a bow. Starmie, Seadra, and Seel mimicked her. Arbok looked at the three of them curiously before doing the same.

The crowd and everyone up at the diving board continued applauding.

Electra noticed a few specks of dirt fall down and looked up at the hole the quaRtet made. One of the sandbags from the balloon was stuck on a jagged part and dangling precariously by a rope. Her eyes widened before she looked back at the tank to find Misty directly under it and unaware.

She grimaced fearfully.

.

*Tank

"MISTY!"

The Cerulean girl perked up and looked over to find Brock's Electric-type looking at her fearfully.

Electra pointed upward, "Look out!"

Misty looked up in alarm. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the balloon's sandbags slip and fall towards her. She grabbed Seel and quickly dove under -followed by Seadra, Starmie, and Arbok- before the bag crashed into the pool. It split open on impact and clouded the water with sand.

Electra stared frightenedly with her paws over her mouth. Pikachu, Clefairy, Brock, Soot, Misty's sisters, and the rest of the crowd stared at the spot in shock.

Togepi stared worriedly, "M- meema?"

The group noticed a familiar green flash from the clouded water and perked up.

After another second, Starmie burst back out of the water with Misty slumped over them. Misty coughed for a bit, put a hand on her chest, and started breathing heavily. Pikachu, Clefairy, Electra, and Togepi sighed in relief. The crowd erupted into cheer again.

"Wow." Someone in the crowd said worriedly, "Talk about a close call."

"Right?" Their friend followed with an anxious frown and hand to their chin, "They really need to be more careful with their stunts."

Pikachu groaned.

Seel and Seadra resurfaced and shot over to the girl.

Seel rammed her with a hug; trembling slightly, "Misty!"

Seadra looked at Starmie worriedly, "Is she okay?"

Starmie faced them, "She's fine. Not even a scratch."

Misty smiled softly -still panting lightly- and petted Seel, "Hey, it's alright. I know that was scary but you're safe, Seel."

The Sea Lion Pokémon's eyes widened before he looked up at her in shock.

Another green flash shone out before Ash and Arbok resurfaced next to Misty. The trainer put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you alright?"

Misty smiled at him tiredly, "I'm okay. That was nothing compared to the building." She frowned, "What about the Pokémon?"

Ash and Starmie started leading her to the ladder to get out of the tank as the boy whispered, "I had to use Blastoise to move them to a safe corner of the tank. We can return them through the glass." He smiled softly, "But they're safe, Misty. Don't worry."

Misty smiled softly and slumped over on her Water/Psychic-type, "Good." Seadra, Seel, and Arbok followed the trio.

Once they were at the ladder, Starmie took on a light blue outline. One also lit up around Seel, Misty, and Seadra before Starmie lifted themself and the other three up and over the rim of the tank with Psychic. Ash returned Arbok and started climbing up the ladder.

Togepi perked up and jumped down from the seat before running off.

Pikachu flinched and ran after him, "Togepi, where are you going?!"

"To meema!" The Fairy-type shouted back.

Clefairy and Electra followed the guys. At the same time, Violet, Lily, Daisy, Brock, and Soot turned and hurried towards the dressing room's exit.

.

*Hallway

Ash walked through the entryway while Misty had her arm slung across his back and Seadra, Starmie, and Seel around them. She had already taken off the mermaid tail to reveal a red bikini bottom.

"MISTY!" All three sisters cried out as they ran and pulled her into a hug; knocking Ash away in the process.

The watch user stumbled back and managed to regain his balance. He sweat dropped and smiled nervously, 'Really not sure I can blame them for that.'

Brock and Soot ran up behind the sisters as they let go of Misty.

Daisy put her hands on her little sister's shoulder and looked at her in alarm, "Are you okay?!"

Misty smiled tiredly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little worn out."

Violet blinked in shock, "Wha- worn out?" She looked through the entryway to the pool, up at the ceiling, and back at Misty, "You almost got hit by a … a falling sandbag."

Misty looked back at the pool, "Yeah. Gotta tell ya, that caught me off guard. If it weren't for-"

"TOGEEE!"

Misty perked up in alarm and turned to find Togepi running towards her with tears in his eyes. Her eyes widened before she kneeled down to scoop him up and hug him tightly.

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra ran up behind him.

"M- meema, are you-" The hatchling stuttered worriedly as he hugged Misty.

Misty shushed him softly and petted him, "It's okay, Togepi. It's okay. Meema's just fine. Everything's okay. Promise."

Togepi just sniffled, smiled softly, and nuzzled her. The rest of the group smiled softly. Daisy and Violet looked at their sister in surprise.

Lily leaned closer to Brock and whispered, "Uh … 'meema'?"

"It's what Pokémon call their parents." Brock whispered back, "Believe it or not, it's instinct."

"Yeah." Soot followed, "Misty's really grown accustomed to the term."

The Sensational Sisters looked at the breeder and canine in surprise before looking back at their sister.

Daisy blinked in surprise and muttered, "huh…"

Pikachu and Clefairy jumped back up to Ash's shoulders and Electra jumped back up onto Brock's shoulder.

Misty noticed and smiled at Electra, "Oh, I almost forgot. Thanks for the heads up, Elec-" Her smile faded, and her eyes widened in shock, "tra…" She glanced down at herself and looked at her again, "Wait a second."

Pikachu, Clefairy, Starmie, and Seadra perked up in realization and looked at her in surprise. Seel looked around in confusion.

Togepi glanced at her curiously. After a second, he perked up in realization, "Wait! Does that mean" He looked up at Misty excitedly, "meema can understand us?!"

Clefairy sweat dropped, "I don't think it's that."

Brock raised a brow before jerking and glancing back at his Mouse Pokémon in shock, "Electra?"

Electra smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head, "S- Surprise?"

Brock and Misty jerked a bit and stared in shock.

Soot smirked and sweat dropped, "Well, guess the jigs up."

Ash chuckled sheepishly.

Lily leaned closer to Violet and whispered, "Wait, that's not normal for them?"

"I don't know anymore." Violet whispered back.

.

*Backroom; moments later

"So …" Misty said while staring in shock, "This is what Soot's been helping you with?"

Electra smiled sheepishly, "Yeah. Hoo- human ling- lang-u-age practice. I wanted it to be a … surprise." She said shakily, "I wanted to wait … um, until I was … fluid."

"Fluent." Soot corrected.

"Right." Electra said, "Flui- fluend-" She cleared her throat, "Flu-ent."

Ash smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "There you go." Electra smiled at him.

Brock perked up and looked at him while pointing a thumb at Electra, "Wait, did you know about this?"

Ash looked at him and shrugged, "I had a feeling it was this considering … well, she's her."

Misty sweat dropped, "Yeah. I probably should've seen this coming."

Brock sweat dropped, "Me too, come to think of it."

Electra looked at her trainer worriedly, "S- so, you're not … mad about me kep- keep-ing this secret, right? You and Misty don't like them."

Brock looked at her in surprise, smiled, and petted her, "Of course, I'm not mad, Electra. I'm actually kinda proud."

Electra smiled, "Really?"

Misty grinned, "Well, yeah. This is a big accomplishment." She looked at Soot with a raised brow, "Right?"

The Dark-type smirked, "Oh, Yvel yeah. She shattered my record by almost half a year."

Misty blinked in surprise, "oh…"

Ash smiled and slung an arm across the Bite Pokémon's back, "Well, that's because Electra has a good teacher."

"Duh." Soot said while grinning.

Pikachu smiled, "I bet this'll help out a lot."

Electra jerked and pointed at Pikachu immediately; making him tense up a bit, "Pikachu said, 'I … bet thistle- thisel-" She frowned and shook her head rapidly. She pointed at him again, "this will help out a lot'." She smiled excitedly as her tail wagged.

Soot snickered, "She's been waiting forever to do that."

Electra nodded rapidly and smiled brightly, "So insane!"

Misty looked at Soot with a smirk, "'Insane' was her first word, wasn't it?"

Soot grinned, "You actually have to ask?"

Brock smiled and petted Electra, "Nice job."

Electra smiled brightly, "Thanks!"

.

*Pool area; later

"Here you go." Misty said while holding out a folded sheet of paper to her sisters, "I wanted to wait until after the show to give this to you."

Lily stared in surprise before frowning sadly, "Oh, come on, sis. We said we were sorry about tricking-"

Misty deadpanned, "It's not a restraining order or an angry letter. It's a list of stuff that'll help out around here."

"Oh." Violet said before taking the sheet and unfolding it, "So, what kind of-" Her eyes widened, "stuff…"

Lily and Daisy looked as well and stared blankly.

"What the?" Daisy muttered.

Misty pointed at the sheet, "Psyduck helped me chat with the Pokémon in the aquarium and I got some suggestions. This list is so you don't get mixed up."

"One of the poliwag, two clamperl, a goldeen, and alomomola want to train so they can help with Gym Battles. A corphish, mantyke, blue-striped basculin, and octillery want to help with performances. The shellder from the show wants to evolve and Poliwag wants to evolve all the way up to poliwrath, so get some Water Stones. Both battling clamperl want to evolve into gorebyss and a third one who prefers it in the aquarium wants to evolve into a huntail so get a Deep Sea Tooth and a pair of Deep Sea Scales."

"And finally," Misty said before she turned, walked out of the room and up to an aquarium wall, and knocked a brief rhythm. She walked back into the area, turned to face her sisters again, and pointed a thumb to the pool, "she asked if she could come along with me."

A red-striped basculin appeared in the water and smiled at the girls, "Basc!"

Misty looked at her with a smile and kneeled down to pet her, "Starmie volunteered to stay behind, help train the new battlers, and help single out the Pokémon I mentioned." She looked at her sisters again, "Ash and I already took care of the account transfer, so don't worry about that. Any questions?"

The girls all stared blankly.

"Can we use your starmie in Gym Battles?" Violet asked.

"That's up to them." Misty said matter-of-factly, "Yes or no questions will make that conversation a lot easier for you." She raised a finger, "Also, they already said they're willing to help with shows. Y'know, Psychic."

Daisy blinked in shock, "Uh … cool."

.

*early the next day

Everyone had gathered around the front of the Gym for Misty's sisters to see the group off. Starmie stood next to the girls.

Misty and her team already threw a farewell party for Starmie/welcome party for Basculin last night at the pool. Togepi got to say his goodbyes to the Mysterious Pokémon and meet a lot of the aquarium Pokémon during that.

Electra waved happily, "Bye Daisy. Bye Lily. Bye Violin."

Soot and Misty snorted.

Violet sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly, "Uh, Violet."

Electra tensed up, "Sorry." She glanced away, "Vile- Vio-let. Violet." She nodded, looked at the sister with a smile, and raised a paw again, "Bye Violet."

Brock smiled and petted her, "Better."

Electra smiled happily. She perked up, looked at Violet, and tugged at her hair; once again in a ponytail, "And thanks for shoe- show-ing me how to do this."

Violet smiled happily, "Oh, it was, like, totally no problem." She sweat dropped, "Y'know, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that you're a talking pikachu."

Misty smirked, "Well, the mightyena helps ease you into it."

Soot grinned, "Hehe."

Lily sweat dropped, "I, uh, guess so."

Daisy looked at their younger sister, "Misty, be sure to-"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Misty interrupted while waving a hand, "Keep working to be a good trainer, you're the talented ones in the family, and something about makeup I wasn't gonna listen to anyway."

Daisy and Lily sweat dropped.

Violet took a deep breath ending in a sigh. She stepped up, snatched Togepi out of Misty's arms, and handed him to Ash. Ash stared in surprise and took him. Togepi blinked in surprise.

Misty glared, "Hey! What are you-" She was cut off and stared in surprise when her sisters pulled her into a group hug.

"Take care, Misty." Daisy said softly.

"Promise you'll stay safe out there." Lily followed.

"We love you, sis." Violet said.

Misty stared ahead in surprise and glanced at them. She smiled softly and hugged them back, "Sure thing. I love you guys, too."

The rest of the group just watched with soft smiles.

After a moment the Waterflowers all separated and Misty kneeled down in front of her Mysterious Pokémon, "Starmie, watch after them for me, okay?"

Starmie pointed a spike, "I'll do that so long as you keep my sibling safe."

Electra perked up and translated shakily.

The Sensational Sisters perked up in surprise, 'Sibling?'

Misty and Starmie each let out a chuckle after a moment.

"Yeah." Starmie said; spike still out, "Promise."

Misty smiled softly, grabbed the spike, and shook it; not needing the translation, "Thanks. Take care. I'm gonna miss you."

The Water/Psychic-type nodded, "Same."

Ash turned, brought out three pokéballs, and tossed them out. All three of them burst open as Charizard, Pidgeotto, and Aerodactyl materialized. The group loaded onto them. The Flying-types lifted off and started their flight back towards Viridian.

Togepi waved at the girls happily, "Bye aunts!"

Misty waved as well, "Take care!"

"So long!" Brock said while waving.

"Pika!/Fairy!" Pikachu and Clefairy called out.

"They said goodbye!" Electra called out while waving.

"See ya!" Ash and Soot called out.

Violet, Lily, Daisy, and Starmie waved as they all flew off. Soon enough, they disappeared into the distance.

Lily smiled nervously, "So," She looked at Violet, "you decided against asking Misty to leave some of her Pokémon with us, huh?"

Violet sweat dropped, "We got lucky with her starmie. I decided not to press our luck."

Starmie raised a spike, "You realize I'm right here, right?"

Daisy scratched her cheek nervously, "I think she would've totally lost if I asked her to leave anything else." She smiled normally, "And, it's not like we really need any more of her Pokémon. I mean, who'd of thought we'd, like, have so many Pokémon in the aquarium that wanted to battle and perform?"

Lily groaned, "Yeah, but it's gonna take forever to get those Pokémon ready."

Violet shrugged, "Well at least she said Starmie will help."

Starmie just stared up at them before sighing and mumbling, "So much for human interaction while I'm here." They turned and walked inside, "Well, at least I have the trainees to talk too."

"I still can't believe how much Misty's grown." Lily said softly.

Starmie perked up and glanced back at them.

"Yeah." Violet followed with a soft smile, "I knew she'd done a lot from that meeting, but … seeing her like that, it was kinda surreal."

Daisy let out a small chuckle, "Our little sister's grown up a lot, hasn't she?"

Violet and Lily smiled softly, "Yeah…"

Starmie continued looking at them. "huh…" They muttered in a soft and kind tone before turning and walking inside, 'Guess they did notice.'

.

*Viridian City Pokémon Center

"Here you are." Nurse Joy said as she placed Ash's pokéballs on the table. Soot walked out from behind the counter with Pikachu and Clefairy on her back. The nurse smiled at him, "All your Pokémon are back in top shape." She frowned and raised a brow, "Though, I kind of thought you'd come right back after your Gym Battle. Not two days later."

Ash sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly, "Actually, I couldn't get a battle at the time, and we flew to Cerulean for a quick trip. I have an appointment for later today." Pikachu and Clefairy jumped back up to his shoulders.

Joy smiled, "Oh. Well, good luck then."

Soot smiled at her, "Thank you."

Brock noticed someone enter the room and looked over. He perked up when he saw a familiar brown-haired trainer looking down with a somber expression on his face. Everyone else looked over as well.

Ash and Soot perked up in surprise upon seeing his expression. Misty and the rest of the Pokémon all deadpanned.

Gary noticed them all, perked up in surprise, and shook his head rapidly before taking on his usual smirk, "Didn't expect to see you here again. I thought you up and left town."

"Well, technically you're right." Ash said calmly, "But I got an appointment for today and we're about to head over."

Misty smirked slyly, "Speaking of, how'd your battle go?"

Gary shrugged; still smirking, "Eh, I just got a little unlucky is all. My fans are taking it worse than me." The professor's grandson turned and walked down a different hallway than the one he came from, "Now if you'll excuse me, my adoring fan club and I have to beat you all back to Pallet. Later."

Brock sweat dropped, "And here I was hoping a defeat would've humbled him a bit."

Electra sighed, "Guess not." Joy perked up and looked at her in surprise.

Soot sweat dropped while smirking, "Well we did go through an encounter without him throwing in an insult worse than 'beat you back to Pallet Town'."

Pikachu nodded, "Huh, new record."

.

*Gym

The guards stood … well, guard out front of the Viridian Gym as they waited for Ash and co. to arrive. One of them covered their mouth to yawn.

"Hi!"

Both guards flinched from the outburst and looked around in confusion.

"Down here!"

The pair perked up and looked down to find a clothed pikachu with a ponytail looking up at them excitedly.

"Hello!" Electra said happily; making their eyes widen, "Why are you dressed as century-ons?! How do your radios work?! What are those big sticks with the metal at the end call-"

"Electra!" Brock shouted before running over and picking her up. He smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry about her. She's excited."

The guard blinked in shock, "Uh … right." He looked at the Electric-type, "Was it talking when you were here before, too?"

Electra shook her head and smiled, "I've been learning. I told my friends yeast- yesd-" She frowned in annoyance and took a deep breath, "Yes-ter-day." She smiled, "Yes! Got it! …" She looked up at Brock, "I said it right, right?"

Brock smiled, "Yes, that was right." He put her back on his backpack.

Everyone else walked up behind the breeder.

The other guard noticed them and smiled, "Right on time."

The door to the Gym slid open.

.

*Gym Leader's Office

Giovanni smirked as he saw the group enter the Gym on his computer. He stood up, "It's time." He walked past the desk and towards the door.

Persian smiled, stood up, and followed him.

The Boss noticed, frowned, and kneeled down in front of the Normal-type, "I'm afraid you'll have to remain here, Persian."

Persian flinched and stared in shock, "Mya?!" He frowned worriedly, "Nya mya mya nya nya!"

Giovanni petted the feline, "I'm sorry, Persian but you remember the meeting. We can't risk the possibility that Ketchum might have seen the transmission or that he might recognize you. You know that your face is not masked like mine." He tugged at the collar of his black suit, "I even had to refrain from wearing my orange suit."

Persian looked down sadly with his ears drooping, "Nya…"

Giovanni sighed, "Look, I can set up the security feed on the computer. You'll be able to watch the whole battle from in here." He smiled, "You can even sit in the chair if you want."

The Classy Cat Pokémon perked up as his ears shot back up, he looked at him in surprise, and then looked back at the desk. He looked at his trainer again, "Really?"

Giovanni nodded, "You have my permission. So, this time, you won't be doing it behind my back."

Persian tensed up and started sweating nervously, "O- oh … you know about that…" He chuckled nervously.

Giovanni let out a brief chuckle before standing back up and walking over to the desk, "Come on." Persian smiled and followed.

The man pulled the chair back and let the feline jump up onto it. He started typing away on the keyboard.

A video feed showing a side view of the battlefield appeared on the screen. Ash Ketchum and his mightyena stood in the challenger area and stared ahead. The pikachu and clefairy stood with them and looked around curiously.

Giovanni pushed the chair back up to the desk and petted Persian on the back, "Be sure to cheer me on from here."

Persian smiled and nodded, "Nya."

The Boss smiled and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him and the Normal-type heard the door lock. Persian crossed his forepaws on the table and rested his head on them as he watched the security feed.

He jumped and stared in shock when he saw Ash Ketchum turn and look directly at him, "Wha-"

.

*Battlefield

Pikachu, Clefairy, Electra, and Togepi looked around the Gym curiously. Brock and Misty looked ahead intently; slightly annoyed there wasn't a spectator area. A referee was already standing at the side of the battlefield. Though, she kept glancing at Ash anxiously; hidden by the sunglasses.

Ash continued looking at the hidden security camera and mumbled, "Huh. They routed the feed to another computer." He looked ahead again, "Guess that means Giovanni's actually gonna watch the battle."

Soot smirked, "Lucky us."

Clefairy looked up at Ash in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean? This Gio-guy's the Gym Leader, right?"

Ash looked down at her and smiled sadly, "Well, yes. But Giovanni rarely battles personally. Most challenges involve him issuing a substitute to act as Gym Leader in his place. If we win and we're lucky, he might show up on a monitor when the badge is issued."

Pikachu sweat dropped, "He's really that shy?"

Soot looked at him, "Eh, more like he's-"

Everyone perked up and looked ahead as the doors on the other side of the field began opening slowly. A brown-haired man wearing a black suit and red tie walked through the door and up to the Gym Leader's trainer box.

Ash and Soot's eyes widened in surprise, 'He's here in person?' Brock and Misty stared in shock.

Ash perked up and looked at the hidden camera in confusion, 'Wait, then who's watching?'

Giovanni's eyes narrowed, 'Does he notice the cameras in here as well?' He shook it off and looked at Ash, "You seem surprised."

Ash snapped out of it and looked at him. He smiled, "Actually, yeah. I heard you rarely show up to Gym battles."

Clefairy and Pikachu looked up at Ash in surprise before looking at the man, 'That's Giovanni?'

The Gym Leader cracked a small smirk, "Well, this is a special occasion."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Special-" She tensed up and frowned uncomfortably, "Wait, this isn't because of me, right?"

Ash tensed up and frowned.

Giovanni looked at Soot, "No, but I have heard about you. I do hope you participate in this battle, Phantom Child." He looked at Ash, "I don't suppose Blaine mentioned the last main eight meeting to you?"

Ash raised a brow, "Um, actually no." He perked up and his eyes widened in realization.

'You've built up quite a reputation among the main eight.'

'Risking yourself to save the Slate kids, saving the Cerulean Gym, annihilating Surge -his words, not mine-, helping Sabrina, charging into a burning building just for Erika's gloom, and impressing Koga of all people.'

Ash looked at the Ground-type user in shock, "Wait … is that how he learned about what happened in my other Gym Battles?" Everyone else looked at the Gym Leader in surprise.

Giovanni smirked and nodded, "You were quite the matter of discussion that day. To say you've merely piqued my interest would be an understatement. I was very careful to pick this time and date so I could battle you personally."

Ash and Soot stared in shock. After a second, the Dark-type cracked a determined smirk.

Ash smiled, "Thank you for this opportunity. I'm honored to be given this privilege."

Giovanni smirked, 'So, he considers this a privilege.' "It's my pleasure." He looked at the referee and nodded.

The ref nodded back and took a deep breath before announcing, "This gym battle will be between the Viridian City gym leader, Giovanni, and the challenger, Ashton Satoshi Ketchum of Pallet Town! Only the challenger may substitute, and the battle will be decided when one sides Pokémon are unable to continue! Should the challenger be victorious, they shall be awarded the Earth Badge! Should the challenger be defeated, they will be banned from challenging the Viridian Gym for the remainder of this year's League Season!"

Ash and Soot glared determinedly. Pikachu and Clefairy gulped and looked at the Gym Leader anxiously. Brock, Misty, Togepi, and Electra looked ahead anxiously.

"For an eighth badge battle, protocol dictates that this will be a six-on-six!" The ref called out, "However," The group perked up and looked at her in surprise as she continued, "due to a special recommendation brought about by the challenger's party limit, the Viridian Gym has been given the privilege to offer Ash Ketchum a ten-on-ten battle instead!"

Ash's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, what?!"

Misty looked at Brock in shock, "That can happen?!"

Brock stared blankly; still looking ahead, "First I'm hearing of it."

The ref looked at Ash, "Should you accept this proposal and come out victorious, a secondary prize has already been decided on!"

Ash blinked in surprise and looked at Giovanni, "What … what does she mean by 'prize'?"

.

.

Seishin: Yeah, sorry. No PCR, this time. … that stands for Pseudo-Comment Response.

Illavera: *sweat drops* Pretty sure they would've figured that out on their own.

Seishin: *shrugs* Eh.

Ohirume: Rather, we're doing a quick message.

First, the time it took to post the next chapter will likely be longer than it took for this chapter.

*frowns* Work. Sorry.

Seishin: Second, Pokémon's new mechanic of 'styles' in "Legends Arceus" is not the same thing as the concept of 'styles' being used in this story.

*deadpans* We're saying this because we know this is going to be asked sooner or later.

Ohirume: *blinks in surprise* I'm honestly still shocked at the fact that I might have predicted the name.

*shakes if off* Anyway, my concept of styles is built from the fact that the anime keeps changing move animations. Like how Pikachu's Iron Tail went from a glowing effect to a metallic sheen effect and back.

Or, as it would be put in this story, went from enhance-style to element-style and back.

Yugo: Someone else had this idea first for their story, but we couldn't find it again.

The idea is that the way a single move can look and sometimes function varies from Pokémon to Pokémon. Even if they're the same species. Take the pikachu form's Hidden Power for example. It's different -not just in type- for Ash, Brock, and Misty.

In this Pokémon continuity, Pokémon can't change the style of their moves beyond a very limited preset. So that Pikachu example won't happen in this story.

Ohirume: Just clearing that up.

Seishin: Stay tuned for the Viridian Gym Battle. *Pokémon narrator voice* As the journey continues.