Hello everybody! I'm going to go ahead and be a little boastful; this chapter is good. I mean, I'm not sure if I would say it's the best (frankly I don't know which chapter I would say is best), but I will say that it's a big improvement compared to the past few chapters. While I'm proud of those too, I really think I delved into the main plot of the story again this chapter, and I think that you will all enjoy it. I will also mention that I got several complaints last week that the story was moving too slow, and that the fic seemed to be lacking direction. In response to these claims, this week (despite it being the first week of school), I went to my outline and completely re-vamped it. I'm serious when I say this story is taking a whole new turn and I'm very excited about it! While the goals of the characters will obviously remain the same, I'm no longer going to get in the trenches over every chapter. Instead, I'm going to go over the main highlights of their journeys together, and keep the readers up to speed about what has happened since the previous chapter. This way, I can move forward a little quicker with this fic, and at the same time still tell the story I want to tell. I am glad to announce also that, despite the fact many of them were negative, I had a large number of reviews this last week; 16 to be exact. I am so excited to have all of this input, and it's because of your critiscm that I am re-directing this fic, and why I feel so happy about it again. For a little while there, this was beginning to feel more like a job than a fun hobby, but I can honestly say I had a great time writing this chapter, and I hope y'all have a great time reading. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts, good or bad, so REVIEW PLEASE!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 16
Brock: 21
Misty: 17
Dawn: 13
Delia: 40
Oak: 55
Gary: 16
"I can't believe it's already been a month since we've started this journey," Misty remarked as the group continued the drive to Celadon City. They had begun their travels early that morning, since they had to make the drive from Pewter.
"I can't believe we're still in this car after six hours," Ash groaned, trying to adjust to a comfortable position as he laid down in the backseat of the car. "Seriously Brock, do you have to go?"
"Ash, we already discussed this," Misty reminded him as she sped along the highway. "You're dream's to become a Pokémon Master, and Brock's is to become an expert Pokémon breeder. What if he begged you to go with him to Hoenn?"
"I'd love that," Ash said. "I need lots of Pokémon from Hoenn anyway.
"Ash," Brock interjected. By this point, he knew when a fight was brewing between the two teenagers. "We need to keep our eyes on the prize. I know that you wanna stay with me, and I'd love you to, but it's just not plausible. You have to catch all the Pokémon in this region and Johto before you head to Hoenn. If you start changing your plans, you'll never meet your year-and-a-half deadline."
"I know," Ash said, folding his arms. As he looked at the floorboard to see Pikachu cozily slumbering away he suddenly wished he could get that comfortable. "I still don't like it though."
"I know, but hey," Brock said in an upbeat tone, "this just means we'll have even more fun when you get to Hoenn. I'm sure by then I'll be able to get a little time off to hang out with you guys, and just as importantly I'm sure I'll have met a great girl by then." As he made the last remark, he pictured the future Mrs. Harrison.
"I'm sure you will," Misty said, lying through her teeth. She had known Brock for a while, and had discovered over their month together that his approach to women had not altered even slightly since they had last seen each other.
"Whatever," mumbled Ash as he lowered his cap and tried to catch a quick nap. They had less than an hour until they reached Celadon International Airport.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Wow," remarked Brock as the car stopped. He had never been to Celadon's airport before, and he was impressed by its gargantuan size. "Uh, I guess we're here."
He climbed out of the car and popped open the trunk of the car to get his large suitcase and backpack.
"Uh guys, you wanna come with me?" he asked as he came up to the passenger-side of the car, rolling his suitcase behind him. "I mean, we have a couple of minutes before my flight and everything."
"Sure Brock," Misty replied sweetly. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was a little nervous, though he would never admit it. It was funny to see him stressed out since he had always been somewhat of a big brother to her when they were growing up, but she understood his fright.
He's about to go work in a foreign country in a new job that will decide his future, Misty thought as she took the keys from the ignition. Who wouldn't be a little scared?
"Alright!" Ash cried happily, as he sprang out of the car. He didn't want to say "goodbye" to his friend just yet. As they left the car and entered the airport, Ash gasped in awe.
"Whoa, look at all these people!" he said. Inside the main entrance were hundreds of people walking in different directions. The airport itself must have been at least ten stories tall.
"Be quiet Ash," Misty ordered, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, the way you talk I'd say you've never been to an airport before."
"I've been to a few airports before, like Kanto Airline, but they've always been so tiny compared to this," Ash replied, apparently too amazed by the sight in front of him to care about Misty's annoyance.
"Well, we gotta get Brock's luggage checked in," Misty reminded, grabbing Brock's suitcase and heading in the direction of the front desks.
Remembering the reason they were there, both Brock and Ash followed after the redhead. As they approached the desks, Ash noticed how long the lines were.
"Aw man," Ash moaned. "Look at those lines! We'll have to wait forever!"
"Shut up," Misty scolded the trainer as she shot him daggers with her eyes. "You're sixteen. You can handle a little line."
"Don't tell me to shut up!" Ash practically yelled back at her. If they hadn't been in such a crowded place, his high tone most certainly would have garnered more attention than it did.
"You're acting like an immature little kid," Misty said, lowering her tone so that no one could hear them fighting. "Straighten up."
Ash didn't really reply, but rather shoved his hands in his pockets and glared angrily at the teenage girl as she turned around and waited patiently in line.
Why should I have to wait for something that I don't even want? he inwardly asked himself as they shuffled a little further in the line. He suddenly remembered asking his mom the same question when he was about to start his journey and had to go to the doctor for his shots. As he sat in the waiting room, he'd had the same epiphany.
"Brock, do you have your passport and tickets ready?" Misty asked as they drew closer to the counter.
"Sure do," he affirmed, reaching into his green vest pocket and pulling out the two documents. "I'm all set."
"Good," said Misty, smiling. "The last thing you wanna do is not be prepared."
They waited in line a few more interminable minutes before they were finally able to approach the front desk with Brock's bag, ticket, and passport in hand.
"Where are you headed?" asked a cheerful, slightly overweight woman sitting in front of a small computer.
"Uh, Jubilife, ma'am," he replied, handing her his tickets. "I'm starting a job there."
"Oh, how wonderful," the middle-aged woman replied, swiping his ticket and passport from his hands. She looked over the identification thoroughly before handing it back to him. "Everything seems to be in order. You'll be sitting in row thirty-four, chair D." As she told him this, Brock placed his bag on the scale next to the woman's desk, and the weight was shown to be forty-two pounds.
"Whoa there!" the woman cried out suddenly, scaring the three teenagers.
"What is it?" the trio asked in unison.
"You're over the weight limit there, buddy," the woman replied, dropping her cheery persona for that of an aggravated employee. "Looks like you'll have to pay the extra forty dollars for overweight luggage."
"Forty dollars?" Brock inquired, thoroughly surprised by the large sum. "Two pounds over the limit is forty dollars?"
"'Fraid so, bub," the woman replied, still appearing aggravated at the interruption of what was a smooth transaction. "You can pay in cash, or with credit. We don't take debit cards here."
"Wait a minute!" Brock said, halting his hand as it was midway to his pocket to reach for his wallet. "I almost forgot something." He then took the bag off of the scale and layed it on its side, unzipping the top pocket. When he reached inside, he pulled out two Heavy Pokeballs.
"What are those doing in there?" Ash asked as he observed the pokeballs.
"Ash, do you remember how Kurt gave us pokeballs when we met him back in Johto?" Brock asked as he took out the two pokeballs and pressed their center buttons to enlarge them.
"Yeah, he gave you a Heavy Ball and me and Misty a Lure Ball," Ash said, remembering the occasion.
"That's right," Brock said, nodding. "Well, I didn't use mine until you told me about your new journey. When I found out, I called Kurt and he transported me one more Heavy Ball so I could catch you a couple of Pokémon for your pokedex." As he explained, he handed the balls to Ash.
"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "Really?"
"Yep," Brock said proudly. "I was hoping you wouldn't catch them before I left so I could give them to you as a goodbye gift."
"Not to sound rude or anything, but what are they?" Misty asked, curious to know what Brock had captured with two pokeballs that were meant to capture fairly heavy Pokémon.
"Oh yeah," Brock said, realizing he'd forgotten the most important part of his story. "I went out early in the morning after our first day of travelling to that mountain we had camped near in Viridian Forest. After looking around a while, I found a wild Onix, and I used one of those to capture it." He nodded towards the pokeball in Ash's left hand as he told him this.
"Whoa, an Onix!" Ash said happily. He'd yet to see one of the gigantic rock Pokémon, let alone capture one.
"Yeah, and then a little later on, when we stopped by Cerulean, I snuck out to Mount Moon and found a Graveler, which is in the other pokeball."
"That's awesome!" Ash cried as he lifted up the pokeballs. "I don't have either of those, although I do have a Geodude."
"Like I said, I was hoping I'd luck out and you wouldn't find them before I left," Brock explained as Ash thanked him.
"But wait," Misty interrupted. "Ash, won't your pokedex not recognize those as your Pokémon?"
"Whaddya mean, Mist?" Ash asked, the happiness in his tone diminishing.
"I mean, your pokedex keeps track of the Pokémon you catch by registering the pokeballs you have in its system," Misty explained. "That way, when you catch a Pokémon, your pokedex will automatically know which pokeball you used and which Pokémon you caught."
"Oh yeah," Ash said, realizing the problem. "I guess these aren't registered under me then." As he said this, he looked apologetically at Brock. However, Brock appeared unfazed by the bad news.
"You don't have to worry about that," he said with a grin. "I already registered those two pokeballs using your pokedex when you were asleep. You can check your pokedex and see they're both listed as yours!"
Smiling once again, Ash was happy that he only brought two of his Pokémon with him so that Brock could hand him his presents rather than tell him they had been transported to Professor Oak's lab.
"Excuse me, but a line's forming," the woman at the desk informed the group of teenagers as they excitedly discussed Ash's newest capture. Embarrassed, Brock quickly re-zipped his suitcase and placed it back on the scale. Without the Heavy Balls, the scale read the weight as only being thirty-nine pounds.
"Well then there's nothing to worry about," cried the woman enthusiastically once again, as she placed a sticker on Brock's luggage and put it on the assembly line behind her. "Now please go through security and head to Gate eighteen."
As the trio walked towards the security lines, where people were being monitored and taking off their shoes, Ash realized that they could no longer go with Brock as he saw security workers asking everyone entering the line to show them their ticket.
"Well, I guess this is it," Misty said, sounding sad. She had hoped to stay upbeat so that Ash and Brock wouldn't be so depressed, but as the time for their separation grew closer, she felt tears beginning to sting her eyes. She wasn't usually a sensitive person, but departures always made her sad.
"Just for now, guys," Brock reassured his two younger peers. "I'll be back with y'all before you realize it." However, as he said this, he began to feel a lump in his stomach as he grew sadder at the thought of leaving.
"I, I just can't believe it," Ash said, pulling his cap down slightly so that his friends wouldn't see that he was beginning to grow emotional. "Brock, I…I wish you wouldn't leave, but I understand."
"Thanks, Ash," Brock replied, smiling. He knew how tough this would be for Ash especially. "I've hung out with you for six years now, and I've watched you go from a scrawny, but funny, wannabe, to a Pokémon Champion. I want you to know that I'm very proud of you and I know you'll become a Master."
"Th-thanks Brock," Ash said, beginning to quiver a little as a teardrop fell from his eye and hit the toe of his shoe. "I, I've always had you with me…well almost always. Anyway, over the years, I g-guess I've just come to s-see you as a big brother or something. It feels like I'm losing my teacher and best friend." As he said this, several more tears fell down his cheek, and he lowered his head further so that no one could see him crying.
Misty too began to cry as she witnessed this heart-wrenching scene. She had never considered how close Ash and Brock must have grown after all their years of travelling together.
"Ash, you're like a brother to me too," Brock said, placing a hand on the trainer's shoulder. "But trust me when I say you're more of a teacher than me." As he said this, Ash actually looked up at him with a confused expression upon his face.
"You've taught me that with a lot of work and determination, anything is possible," Brock explained. "A lot of people in life tell you that, but you showed me it through your journeys. No matter what people said or thought, you pressed on, and you still are to this day."
"Thanks Brock," Ash said quietly. "I know you'll do great."
"Thanks," Brock responded, now turning towards Misty. "I'm gonna miss you a lot too, Misty." As he told her this, she brought him in for a hug.
"Oh, I'll miss you too you hormonally-crazed guy," she replied jokingly. Tears continued to cascade down her cheeks as she hugged her friend tightly. They'd only been travelling together again for a month, but that month had brought back all her old memories of their shared experiences, which made this departure even more upsetting.
"Watch out for Ash, 'kay?" Brock asked, pulling out of the hug.
"Alright," she responded, smiling sadly and wiping away the tears.
"Hey, I don't need a babysitter!" Ash yelled in mock anger. However, he soon began smiling and the three of them shared a last laugh before Brock picked his backpack up and put it on his shoulder.
"Pika, pi," stated Ash's Pokémon sadly as it held its arms out for Brock.
"Oh, I didn't forget about you," Brock said, giving the electric mouse a pat on the head. "I'll miss you a lot too, buddy."
"Well, I think I need to get going," he said, hesitance obvious in his tone.
"I guess you do," Ash said.
"Take good care guys," he said, shaking Ash's hand one last time. Although he knew they would meet again, it was obvious this was the end of his and Ash's journeys together.
"You too," both Ash and Misty said quietly as their friend turned and walked toward the security guards and showed them his passport.
Ash and Misty turned the other way and began to walk away. However, as they almost walked out of earshot, Ash turned around suddenly and yelled at Brock one more time.
"Have a good time Brock! We'll miss you!"
"I'll see you soon!" he yelled back, and then turned around and walked through the metal detector.
"There goes a best friend," Ash muttered sadly as he felt his cheeks grow warm and his eyes fill with tears once more.
"Yeah," Misty replied, equally sad from both Brock's departure and seeing Ash in this mood.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"C'mon Ash, we've gotta catch a Clefairy today!" Misty said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. It had been a day since she and Ash had left Brock at the airport, and although Ash had decided to put off training yesterday, she knew that he could not risk throwing off his schedule by doing the same today.
"I don't really feel like it," replied Ash as he stared at his cold cereal breakfast waiting to be eaten in front of him. They were eating in the hotel lobby. "Maybe I'll just head up to bed."
"Ash, you can't do this," Misty told the depressed teenager. "You did nothing, but lie in bed yesterday, and if you do it again today, then we'll be in big trouble with that agenda of yours."
"I know," Ash replied, sighing, "but it's hard to get enthusiastic when your best friend leaves you."
"Well, what am I?" Misty asked, feeling a little insulted. She had no idea why she had wanted to travel with Ash alone a couple of months ago when they first decided upon this journey. It was obvious he didn't consider her a friend.
"Oh, well you're definitely my best friend too, Mist," he said, weakly trying to make up for his mistake. "I just don't wanna go out today, alright?" With this, he pushed himself away from the table and stood up.
"Okay, okay," Misty relented. "If you wanna fall behind, then that's your problem. All I know is that you've only caught like thirty Pokémon and you need a lot more, but whatever."
Ash only grunted in response to her attitude as he walked towards the elevator to go up to his room.
I need to cheer him up, Misty thought as she watched him shuffle into the elevator with his head hung low.
As she sat in the hotel lobby contemplating the situation, an idea formed.
Why can't I get a Clefairy for him? she thought. It was a surprise that she hadn't thought of that earlier. She knew where Ash kept his registered pokeballs, and she was confident that Ash wouldn't notice her being gone as long as she returned at a decent hour.
Yeah, that's a great idea, except I don't have any Pokémon with me, she suddenly remembered. Going to Mount Moon would be completely worthless if she wasn't able to capture a Clefairy. However, the need to cheer Ash up forced her to rack her brain. She couldn't go to the Pokémon Center and demand her Pokémon back because they were all getting some well-deserved rest after almost an entire month of battling, but Ash's Pokémon had already been healed earlier in the week and he had a couple of them in his room.
She decided that she could get him to lend her at least one of his new Pokémon, so she went on the elevator and straight to Ash's room.
"Who is it?" inquired a groggy voice from inside as she knocked on the door.
"One of your millions of fan girls," Misty replied sarcastically. "Could I have your babies please?"
"Oh, hey Mist," Ash replied from behind the closed door. He didn't seem fazed by her sarcasm. "Hold on a sec." After he said this, Misty heard the springs from the bed groan as Ash lifted himself off of the bed and walk slowly towards the door. As he opened it, Misty could see that he had undressed upon entering his room and now was only in his socks, undershirt, and blue jeans.
"Hey Ash," Misty said, her voice dripping with sweetness. She always used this voice when she was about to ask someone for something important.
"What do you want?" Ash asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow as he heard her tone.
"Well, I'm going into town and I was wondering if I could borrow your Poliwag?"
"My Poliwag?" Ash asked. "Why do you want her?"
"Well, it's been a few weeks since we've seen Mallory, and you never know when she'll pop up on us," Misty answered, halfway sincere. "I just wanna be prepared for the worst-case-scenario."
"I guess you can borrow her," Ash replied, scratching the back of his head. "I just have to remember the combination to the locker." He then went over to the room's closet and opened the doors, revealing a small locker in the corner. He crouched down and started pressing different numbers into the keypad.
"Crud, I forgot the combo," he muttered. However, Misty was no longer paying attention to him. Instead, her eyes were now fixed on his back pack which was lying on display on top of his bed. She knew that was where he kept his pokeballs.
I only need one, she assured herself as she slowly walked towards the pack and slipped her hand inside the front pocket.
"I can't believe I don't remember the frickin' combination," Ash growled in frustration as he pushed in another four-digit code. "How hard could this be?"
Misty was just glad to hear that he was still distracted, and as she tried the pocket on the right hand side of his pack, she felt several miniature pokeballs. Reaching her hand further in, she grabbed two, but suddenly turned around when she heard Ash call her name.
"Uh, Mist," he began, the locker open and Poliwag's pokeball in his hand, "why are you reaching inside by backpack?"
"Oh, uh, well, um, I was getting a mint!" Misty replied, remembering the lame response from a television show once. It had worked for the main character of that episode, and she hoped it worked in real life too.
"Okay, then," Ash said, still sounding suspicious.
In order to throw Ash off, Misty quickly popped one of the small pokeballs in her mouth so that he would believe that was all she wanted.
"Mmm, good mint," she replied, her mouth a little full. She was being very careful not to press down on the capsule item because she didn't want to risk pressing the center button and having the object expand in her jaw.
"Whatever," Ash said, rolling his eyes. "Here's Poliwag. She'll probably listen to you now that we've had her on the team a while." He handed Misty the pokeball and returned to the bed, where he proceeded to turn back on the television and lean against the bedpost.
"See you later," Misty said, leaving the room with her mouth still full of pokeball.
"See ya," Ash responded. "Oh, and by the way." As he said this, Misty turned around.
"Yeah?" Misty asked, pressing him forward in his statement.
"I do consider you to be my best friend," he said, blushing slightly from the compliment. He couldn't explain it, but he felt the compulsory need to tell her this before she left for the day. He did not like the idea of Misty thinking she wasn't important to him.
"I know Ash," she said, surprised by his sudden declaration of friendship. "You're my best friend too."
"Alright then," he said, the slight blush from his cheeks retreating. "Be safe!"
"I will," Misty said, her voice still muffled by the pokeball. She quickly closed the door behind her and spat the metal object out of her mouth.
He can be really sweet when he wants to, she thought as she felt her pulse quicken just a little.
"Yuck," Misty suddenly said aloud, embarrassed by her thought. She stuck her tongue out and walked towards the elevator.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Whoa, it sure is dark in here, huh Poliwag?" Misty asked the small water Pokémon as they entered Mount Moon. She had been here before several years ago, but back then the place was lit up, and she had her friends with her. Now she was in the dark and only had the consolation of a young water Pokémon.
"Poli," squeaked the tadpole Pokémon in response.
"Good thing I have a flashlight," Misty said, pulling the small flashlight off of her keychain. She kept it with her for emergencies, and it wasn't very big, but she figured she would have to make due.
I can't believe I forgot to buy some lights in Pewter, she thought to herself angrily as she turned on the small flashlight and saw that it barely covered the area three feet in front of her.
She and the Poliwag walked straight through the cave for about ten minutes, hearing Pokémon moving somewhere in the background, but not seeing any. There were several adjoining hallways which they could have turned down to search for a Clefairy, but the last thing Misty wanted was to get lost in the expansive mountain. Therefore, she decided to continue walking straight until she hit a dead end.
Suddenly, they heard a loud "thud" behind them, and they both stopped dead in their tracks to see if anything happened.
After a couple of seconds, Misty looked down at Ash's Pokémon and tried to reassure her.
"I think we're-"
"Roooooar!" interrupted a booming voice from behind her.
In response, Misty and Poliwag both shrieked and began to run as fast as they could away from the source of the noise..
Poliwag's pretty fast, Misty noted as she saw the short tadpole Pokémon was almost keeping pace with her. They continued running until Misty saw that they were at a dead end.
"I think we lost…whatever that was," Misty said, bending over and catching her breath. Poliwag too was breathing heavily.
"Gravel," responded the cave wall.
Jerking her head up, Misty was shocked to see that the dead end that she and Poliwag had encountered was not a wall at all, but a large Graveler and several Geodude who had pressed their bodies together. In an instant, the Geodude separated and surrounded Misty and Poliwag, and the Graveler lifted itself with its strong legs and spread out its four arms to make itself appear even larger.
"Oh no," Misty gasped as she watched the Geodude hovering around her. She was a strong trainer, and Poliwag did have the type advantage, but the large number of rock Pokémon made Misty feel uneasy about her odds of success.
"Poliwag, use Water Gun!" Misty commanded, as she saw one of the Geodude charging towards her. The water Pokémon quickly shot out a small spurt of water at the oncoming rock and ground type Pokémon, catching it off guard and drenching it simultaneously.
"Great job!" Misty complimented. She knew that if she wanted Poliwag to keep fighting, then she needed to encourage her. "Now use Water Gun on all of them."
"Poli!" squealed the Pokémon as she started releasing burst after burst of water. The Geodude had now gone crazy and were charging at Misty and Poliwag from all directions, but so far Ash's new Pokémon was holding them off splendidly.
"Keep it up," Misty encouraged as she pointed to different Geodude whom Poliwag needed to spray down. "Just a little-Ah!" Misty was interrupted as she was suddenly tackled in the back by one of the Geodude and hit the ground hard.
"Poli!" screamed Poliwag as it shot another burst of water at the Geodude who had hurt her friend.
"I'm alright," Misty assured, getting to her knees. "I don't think these Geodude are very strong."
"Gravel!" roared the large boulder-like Pokémon in front of them suddenly. Misty had almost forgotten that he had been there the entire time, but instantly remembered as he appeared, wanting to join the fight.
"Poliwag, give him a Water Gun!" Misty ordered, pointing her finger at the oncoming rock Pokémon.
"Poli!" Poliwag responded, shooting her enemy, but not appearing to faze him.
He must be a lot stronger than these Geodude, Misty assumed as she watched him grow closer. He suddenly grabbed Misty by the abdomen, and threw her. As she flew through the air, she prayed that she wouldn't hit one of the rock walls.
Fortunately, her prayers were answered as she felt her back hit the hard cave floor, but she was upset to find that it still hurt her like crazy. Her head was spinning and as she reached for her flashlight and pointed it at the melee, she saw that Poliwag was surrounded by the rock Pokémon.
This is just like with those stupid Haunter, Misty realized. Unfortunately though, this time she didn't expect Sabrina to come and save her. Reaching for the pokeball, she quickly tried to recall Poliwag back to safety.
"Poliwag, return!" she ordered as the red beam shot from the center of the ball and towards the cluster of Pokémon. However, the beam was not able to make contact with Poliwag through all of the Geodude surrounding her, and Misty suddenly felt guilty for dragging the poor Pokémon into this situation.
"Poliwag!" she cried, as she found the strength to get up and rush over to her battling partner. She tried desperately to remove the Geodude, and was successful, but every time she removed one, it would just tackle her in the back and squeeze back into its original place.
It's like they're trying to imprison her or something, Misty thought as the Pokémon held onto each other to seal Poliwag in from escaping. Misty knew she was still fighting because she could see small jets of water emanating from within the confines of the rock Pokémon, but it was obvious that she was at a disadvantage.
"Poli-poli!" Misty suddenly heard the small water Pokémon yell, as from inside the prison of Geodude and Graveler, a light could be seen.
Is she evolving? Misty wondered in a panic. She had not expected any of this to happen.
"Poliwhirl!" a voice from inside the rock prison responded, to answer her mental question.
"Poliwhirl, use Bubblebeam!" Misty commanded upon hearing Poliwag's voice change. She was shocked, but being the skilled trainer that she was knew that she had to capitalize on this moment. She had once owned a Poliwhirl and knew that upon evolution they learned several new water moves that were more difficult for them to know as Poliwags.
"Whirl!" came the voice from inside, as the sound of a Bubblebeam attack sounded. After a few seconds, several Geodude were shot away from their positions and a jet of bubbles followed them. As Poliwhirl emerged from the rock Pokémon, Misty suddenly felt confident again. Despite the pain in her head and back, she ran over to Poliwhirl and gaver her a hug.
"Now give them all a Bubblebeam!" she ordered, pointing at the remaining Geodude and Graveler.
"Poliwhirl!" growled the Pokémon as it stuck out its fists and released a jet of bubble attacks from them. All of the wild Pokémon, including the Graveler, could not take the impact, and they were all soon running away in different directions.
"You were unbelievable Poliwhirl!" Misty gushed as she hugged the water Pokémon once again. "Wait till Ash sees you and his new Clefairy." As she said this, she continued her walk down the cave, this time without fear due to the stronger Pokémon with her.
As the two passed through the long stone corridor, Misty suddenly spotted something that made her heart jump; sunlight. She and Poliwhirl both ran towards the light at the end of the tunnel and saw that at the end of the cave was a large open area, which held a massive stone in the middle of it.
"This is a Moon Stone," Misty remarked as she recognized the area from several years ago when she, Ash, and Brock had followed a certain scientist to this very location to help save the Clefairy's most prized possession. She walked over to it and touched it with her hand, loving how smooth it felt. Although it appeared to just be an average boulder, she knew that this particular rock held a great amount of power.
"I guess we'll wait here for the Clefairy," Misty told her travelling partner. She knew that sooner or later, the Clefairy of the mountain would probably come to greet their newest visitor.
As she and Poliwhirl waited, she reflected upon the last month and all the fun she'd had. It was weird, but despite all that had happened, she was really enjoying herself. What was even odder, though, was the fact that in the pit of her stomach she almost felt glad that only she and Ash would be travelling together. Of course, she didn't allow herself to entertain this thought long, as she dismissed it as nonsense.
I think I'm just making up problems, she thought to herself. I love Brock. I didn't want him to leave.
"Clefairy?" inquired a small voice at her feet.
Shaking her head of her thoughts, she looked down to find a small pink Pokémon looking up at her with big eyes.
"Ooooh, how adorable!" Misty cooed as she picked up the small Clefairy. Poliwhirl seemed to take an interest in it too, as she came over and began to pat the small Pokémon on its head.
A minute later, as Misty held the cute Pokémon, temporarily forgetting her mission, a Clefable came out of the cave and approached Misty and Poliwhirl.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry," Misty apologized, realizing that the baby Pokémon probably belonged to the pink creature approaching her. "I was just looking at how cute he is!"
"Fable-fable," explained the Clefable as she approached Misty and Poliwhirl. She seemed very happy, and picked the Clefairy up and twirled it around.
"Oh, I see," Misty said, realizing what the Pokémon was trying to communicate to her. "So you're the mother?"
"Fable," replied the Pokémon, nodding its head. She seemed very happy to see Misty as she jumped into the redhead's lap with its baby.
"You're both so cute!" Misty said, hugging the two Pokémon.
I wonder if they'd wanna come with me? Misty pondered as she suddenly remembered why she was there. She decided to find out.
"Well, I have to go," she said, standing up. Poliwhirl looked up at her, confused, but followed her lead and stood up. "It was nice meeting you!"
"Fable-Fabe!" cried the mother of the Clefairy as Misty casually made her way to the entrance of the cave.
"What?" Misty asked turning around. She didn't want to force the Clefable and her baby to come with her, but she was certain they didn't wish to stay in a place like this wherein the baby was in constant danger of rock Pokémon and Zubat.
"Fable!" cried the Pokémon as she came towards Misty and latched onto her leg. Her child followed suit with Misty's other leg.
"Oh, of course you can come with me!" Misty squealed, excited that they wanted to join her. "Just jump in!" As she said this, she took out the two pokeballs she had brought with her. Although she had intended to only catch a Clefairy, she had taken two by mistake.
"Fairy!" cried the baby Pokémon happily as its mother held it up to one of the pokeballs.
She must have met some trainers before, Misty thought as she was surprised that the mother understood immediately how capturing Pokémon worked.
The Clefairy tapped on the pokeball with its hand, and instantly was transformed into red energy and sucked inside the capsule. The ball rocked a few times in Misty's hand before finally settling down.
"Now it's your turn," Misty said, grinning at how easy this was going.
"Fable!" cried the mother Pokémon as it jumped at the pokeball and knocked on the top half. Once again, the pokeball opened and the Clefable was soon locked safely inside.
"That was awesome!" Misty told Poliwhirl as they turned back towards the cave. This time she felt no apprehension about entering the dark area with only a flashlight.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Misty what happened?" Ash asked, appearing shocked as he opened the door to find Misty standing in front on him with dirt on her face, her skirt torn, and her hair looking greatly disheveled.
"Oh, nothing," Misty replied as coolly as she could. However, the excitement from the news she had was making her voice sound a little high-pitched as she talked to the trainer.
"I thought you were going shopping," Ash explained as she entered his room and sat on his bed. "How did you wind up looking like you got in the ocean with a Sharpedo?"
"Well, I went shopping, but not for clothes," Misty informed him.
"Then what did you go for?" Ash inquired, growing even more curious. "Bear traps?"
"No, no," she said, laughing. His worry over her made this seem funny somehow. "I went looking for a Clefairy."
"A Clefairy?" Ash asked.
Misty then proceeded to tell him the entire story of her day, from stealing his pokeballs to meeting Clefable and her son.
"Whoa," Ash said, mouth agape after she finished her explanation. "So you got me a Poliwhirl, Clefairy, and Clefable today?"
"Uh-huh," Misty affirmed, proudly nodding her head. "And I did it all before suppertime. Pretty impressive, huh?"
"But why did you do that?" Ash asked, not understanding her motivation for helping him.
"Duh," Misty responded, rolling her eyes. "Because you were so down today. I don't like you sad." As she said this, she screamed in her head.
What did I just say? she asked inwardly. She knew that what she had said wasn't a big deal, but she was sure that Ash would have a field day with her display of emotion.
"I'm sorry," Ash responded, causing Misty to almost fall over in shock. Of all the things to happen to her that day, this had to have been the biggest surprise.
Why isn't he laughing at me? she wondered.
"Why are you sorry?" she asked, ignoring the question on her mind.
"Because I made you go through all this trouble just to cheer me up," he explained. "I know I've been acting like a baby."
"You haven't been acting like a baby," Misty explained as Ash took a seat next to her on the bed. "You lost your best friend, that's understandable."
"But like I said earlier, he's not my only best friend, and I was stupid for not realizing that earlier." As Ash said this, he looked into Misty's eyes, regret apparent.
"Don't worry about it," Misty assured, putting her hand on his shoulder, which she immediately realized sent a jolt of electricity through her body. Ash too seemed to tense slightly at the contact as they held their gaze. "You're my friend no matter what happens."
"Thanks," he said, practically whispering. He could feel his throat become thick as he looked into her green eyes.
What's happening? he thought as the silence in the room clamored in his ears. Deciding that the situation was getting a little tense, he took notice of the first thing his eyes met.
"Your arm's bruised!" he said, a little too loud.
Knowing that he was trying to avoid the uncomfortable position they had found themselves in, Misty nodded eagerly as she felt her heart beat slow.
"Y-yeah," she said, still nodding. "When I got thrown, I guess I got a little hurt."
"Hold on," Ash said, getting up and going to the table upon which the television rested. He took the ice bucket, which was situated next to the television, and pulled out the large plastic bag which contained the ice.
"I know it's a little big," he said, laughing slightly as he returned to the bed. He gently placed the bag on Misty's arm, and felt her shiver as the cold bag made contact with her skin. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "Just a little chilly."
"Well, since we, I mean you, have caught all the Pokémon I needed from Mount Moon, I guess we'll head to Lavender now to catch some ghosts, huh?" Ash asked as he wracked his brain for conversation topics.
"I guess so," Misty said, apprehensively.
"Oh, c'mon, don't be a fraidy-Meowth!" Ash teased her jokingly.
"I'm not scared!" she bantered, laughing a little. "I just don't like Lavender Town that much."
"You don't like it so much that we had to skip going there a couple of weeks ago just because you refused to be near that tower," Ash reminded her with a triumphant smirk on his face.
"That was because I thought it would be more fun to save Lavender Town for later," Misty informed Ash, sticking her tongue at him.
"Oh, that's very mature, Mist," Ash noted while rolling his eyes.
"No less mature than watching cartoons all day," Misty rebutted, nodding towards the television screen which was playing a children's show.
"Hey, cartoons are wholesome fun!" Ash said, barely containing his laughter. "They help develop minds."
"You're such a baby," Misty said cracking up. Ash gave in to the temptation to laugh as well and for a full minute they chuckled at how immature they could still act. However, Ash accidentally placed his right hand on Misty's left, and the laughter instantly ceased.
"Oh, sorry," Ash said, quickly withdrawing his hand. "I meant to put it on my lap." He then put his hand behind his back, as if hoping this would make the memory of what just happened disappear, and began to grow a little red in his cheeks.
"It's alright," Misty squeaked as she felt her lily-white cheeks turn slightly red as well.
What's happening to us? Misty wondered as she turned her attention to the ice bag on her right forearm.
Author's note: Like I said, I really enjoyed this chapter, and I hope y'all did too. Honestly, I'm a little tired right now, so I'm going to be brief with my author's notes for this week. All I will say is that I think I did well describing the emotions as Brock left the group, and I hope no one thinks I over-exagerated Ash's depression to Brock's Departure. In all honesty, it would make since for him to be so upset considering how long they've been travelling together at this point. I also hope everyone appreciates the heavy pokeshipping near the end of this chapter. It only gets better from here guys, trust me.
In accordance with prophecy (or tradition), here's my recs for the week:
Okay I admit it, I didn't read any new fics this week. Like I said, it's the first week of school, and I was elected Senior Class Treasurer, so I've got a lot going on at the moment. However, if you want an idea of something to read, please look at the stories I've recommended in the past because I still think any of those are really good and deserve to be read and reviewed whenever possible.
Anyways, I hope y'all liked this. Like I said, I've completely toppled my original outline for this fic and am working on a new one. Although it is not completely finished yet (I'm being really specific with it so I don't get off-track. For instance, I'm keeping dates of when every chapter happens, so I'll know what the weather should be like when they're travelling, and when certain holidays and birthdays will come around) I plan that this fic will probably be completed by March or April (despite what I told some of you in PM's). As I always say, life's like a box of chocolates, and REVIEW PLEASE!