Hey Everybody! Well, I'm in kind of a hurry this week to get this up because I've got to go to church in less than six hours, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the author's notes this week. I want to say that I still, unfortunately, have not yet replied to all of your reviews…but in exchange for that, I was able to get this chapter out on time! (For like the first time in about two months!) This is the first time I've gotten two chapters out in a month since like October too, by the way, and I think this may continue. When I was on vacation, I got easily distracted, but now that I'm back at school I actually have nothing much else going on right now, so I think you can definitely expect to see chapter forty-two up in the next couple of weeks, along with review replies to all of you out there who take the time to review this chapter.
Oh! I need to mention though that this chapter is dedicated to pokemaster101 for being my 1000th reviewer! Can y'all believe it? We finally crossed the four digit threshold! Of course, I hope we don't stop just because of that…10,000 reviews would certainly be nice (as well as almost impossible…but still, haha). Thank all of you though, seriously, for dedicating so much time and thought to this story. I cannot express my gratitude for all of the reviews, both good and bad, because they have been and continue to be my motivation and my guide for writing this fic. It wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is without you, and I hope no one doubts that for a second.
Also, I need to publicly apologize to Pokemon-Princess.8 because I told her I was going to dedicate this chapter to her for giving me some great ideas for this chapter…except I didn't use them, and I already dedicated this to someone else. Rest assured though, PP8, when I use your ideas next chapter, the chapter is yours! Of course, she's already been such a huge source of inspiration for this story already that she deserves the entire fic dedicated to her…but the next chapter will have to do for now. Ha,ha. Also, I should mention that PP8 is also special because she is the first fan of mine that I've actually talked to in real life! It's so cool actually knowing that my fans exist in the real world and aren't fanfic robots meant to make me feel better, and so I want to say thanks to her for all her kind words and for listening to my boring thoughts on writing!
Wow, I guess I wasn't in too much of a hurry, huh? Well, go ahead and read and 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: 17
Brock: 22
Misty: 18
Delia: 41
Oak: 56
"Hello?"
"Hey Ash! It's me!"
"…who?"
The redhead squinted her eyes. "You know who, Ash Ketchum. My name shows up on your phone every time I call along with my picture. If you can't figure it out, then you're even dumber than I thought."
"Oh, it's Misty," he snickered. "I knew I recognized those insults!"
She rolled her eyes as she closed the bedroom door behind her. Looking around at her surroundings, she almost forgot she was in the middle of a call. Coming back into this room always felt like a blast from the past. Though they'd heavily renovated over the years she'd been the leader, she had refused a single contractor to touch her room. The sentimental value it held just seemed too great to allow some sweaty guy named "Rick" to tear apart without emotion.
"Mist? You there?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" She jumped a little at the voice in her ear. "What were you saying Ash? I just saw something that distracted me."
"Oh, well I was asking how your sisters are doing?"
A frown permeated the leader's features as she remembered the main reason for her call. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about them."
"Sure Mist. What's up?" His voice was completely upbeat, and Misty's heart sank as she thought of the news she was about to deliver. Though she didn't know whether or not she was going to help her sisters just yet, she knew Ash would be upset to hear about the possibility of her leaving all the same.
"Well…"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"So basically Daisy, Lily, and Violet haven't gotten any better since the last time you saw them and now the Pokémon League's threatening to close us down again," Misty concluded. She bit her lip while nervously awaiting the up-till-now quiet champion's response.
What if he cries or something?
However, she was surprised by the rather emotionless reply over the receiver. "You're not staying."
"…what did you say?"
"I said that you're not staying in Cerulean, Mist," Ash responded, his voice like ice. The blunt reaction to her news caught her off-guard, and for a moment she just stared at the blue bedroom wall before her.
"Um, I never said I was gonna stay," she reminded, still a little confused. "Why do you sound like that?"
"Yeah, but you never said you weren't either. You're not going to go back and live with your sisters again." The stern tone almost scared her a little. It wasn't like Ash to be so forceful.
"Like I said, I never said I was gonna stay, but even if I did, you have no power to order me not to." With every word, she began to feel her face grow hotter. "I called you to talk about my problems, and all you say is that I'm not staying? Why are you so mad all of a sudden? You didn't answer my question!"
There was a pause, followed by a long exhale, and when he answered, his tone sounded almost normal again. "Misty, I know your sisters. Every time they need something, you just give it to them."
"No I don't!"
"Really? What about when we visited the gym when we were kids and they asked for your Starmie? You just handed over your most powerful Pokémon without a fight! And when they asked you to watch the gym? You left me and Brock crying!"
"Um…" She blushed at the realization that he had a point, but she refused to allow him to win the argument. "Just because I helped my sisters out twice doesn't mean I'm some pushover…and it really doesn't mean you can just tell me what to do!"
"Misty, what if I was about to jump off a cliff? Would you just let me do it?"
"Right now? Probably."
His tone grew more serious. "C'mon Misty, would you let me?"
She sighed. "Of course not, but I don't know what that has to do with-"
"This is like jumping off a cliff. I'm just telling you not to do it for your own good, not because I think I'm your boss or something like that. You don't want to be a gym leader again."
"How would you know that?" He was right, of course, but she wasn't done feeling indignant over the way he'd responded to her story.
"Because you were so excited to leave. Remember that night at the party when I told you about becoming a Master? You didn't think twice about inviting yourself to join me! You couldn't wait to get out of there!"
A short pause reached Ash's ear as this time Misty thought of what she should say. "You're right, I don't wanna, but you don't have to sound so mean telling me not to."
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that I know how influential your sisters are in your life, and I can't stand the thought of them taking advantage of you just because they can. You're a grown-up, and you can make your own decisions."
"But the gym…"
"Forget about the gym, Mist!" The sharp tone caught her by surprise once again. "Who cares? It's obvious that they don't if they're still no better at battling. They've been running it this long and still can't win against rookie trainers with powerful water Pokémon you've been sending home from around the world? If the gym was as important to them as it is to you, then they would've learned by now."
Though she found herself nodding in silent agreement to what he said over the cell phone, the redhead was still shocked to hear Ash talk about her sisters in such a harsh way. She noticed that he normally was very reserved when discussing them with her.
"Ash, why do you sound so upset about this? I already said that I don't wanna stay."
"I know…it's just that I can't stand the idea of you leaving me again," his voice had lowered to almost a whisper now, "and your sisters wanting that to happen just makes me…I dunno."
She smiled. "Angry?"
Another short pause.
"Yeah, I guess that's it. I don't mind that your sisters are kinda ditzy, but I don't like the idea of them trying to steal you from me, you know?"
She laughed. "Yeah, I know."
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's just I've never heard you really say what you think about my sisters before. It's kinda funny to hear you use the word 'ditzy'."
In Sinnoh, Ash smiled despite himself. "I don't normally wanna hurt your feelings by saying what I think of them most of the time, but this is different."
"Yeah, I guess it is…but that still doesn't change the big problem of what'll happen to the gym."
"Like I said, who cares?"
A frown reemerged on her lips. "I care, for one, Ash. You're right that they don't take their responsibilities seriously, but this is my home too, in case you forgot. If I just leave them, then we're definitely gonna lose the gym. I don't want to come back, but I can't let this place go." She looked around her old room once again, remembering all the time she'd spent here.
"I understand," Ash replied sympathetically. "I don't know what I'd do if Ma told me she sold our home or something…it has a lot of memories, huh?"
"More than you can imagine."
"Well, I'm not letting you get away again. If it's really so important to keep the gym in your family, then I'll move to Cerulean.
Misty furrowed her brows in shock. "Wait, what?"
"I dunno, I mean, they've got schools there, right? Even if it's not the one Ma wants, she'll be glad I'm just going. And we could work together being gym leaders and taking care of the building or whatever."
The shocked expression quickly disappeared, leaving a look of concern on the redhead's face. "That's not happening, Ash."
"Why not?"
"For one, you're a champion. I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to demote yourself to gym leader like that. Also, your mom would be upset if you didn't go to Vermillion like her, and I never want to make her angry with me."
"Well, I'm not leaving you. You can stay in Cerulean if the gym means that much, but I'm coming whether you like it or not." The adamant tone reminded her of their childhood fights.
"I don't wanna be a gym leader anyway, Ash. I mean, maybe when I'm older or something, but I wanna travel and go to college and do all the stuff we talked about doing."
"Then how are you going to keep the gym open?"
She thought for a moment, racking her brain for a solution. Suddenly, a thought hit her and she bolted up in excitement. "Ash, I have it!"
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"Like, what did you say little sis?" The four sisters were once again sitting together in the kitchen, and all eyes were on Misty as she explained her solution to their current woes.
"You're going to boot camp, you guys," she answered, beaming with joy. "I thought of it last night when I was talking with Ash on the phone."
"Like the army?" Violet appeared as if she were about to faint.
"Ewwww, no way little sis!" Daisy replied as Lily just stared at her sister as if she'd lost her mind. "I don't care, like, how bad we need money. I am not joining the military."
Rolling her eyes at the theatrics taking place before her, Misty shook her head. "Not the army, you guys. You guys are gonna be trained by some of the toughest Pokémon champions in the world so you can be great trainers!"
They eyed each other suspiciously, instantly quieting at the news.
"Like who?" Lily finally asked.
"Like Cynthia and Steven Stone. They trained Ash before his big match with Paul, and I asked Ash if he could maybe get them to help you three out too. He's calling them right now, actually."
Daisy's eyes widened. "But we can't battle, Misty. It doesn't matter who you get to teach us because we'll never be good at it! I thought we already decided you were just gonna come home and help us out!"
Misty gave her sister an incredulous stare. "We never agreed to anything like that Daisy! I said I had to think about it, and then when I talked to Ash I got this idea."
"So that's why you're not gonna stay with us," Violet interrupted. "Misty, I'm, like, happy for you and everything, but we're sisters. That's a lot closer than boyfriend/girlfriend. We should be the ones you help."
"No Violet. You guys need to help yourselves. Do you love this gym?"
"Uh, no duh," Violet answered for her sisters. "That's why we want you to come back, remember?"
"Well, if you really love it, then you'll learn to fight for it. I've taken care of it for a long time now, and now I'm an adult who's starting my own life…and that life isn't in this gym. I love this place, but I'm moving out, and not just to go travel. I'm going to college, and then who knows…but I know that I'm never gonna live here again." Her voice became almost melancholy as she came to the end of her small speech. "So now it's your decision. You can either stay or go, but I can't help you anymore because I have my own life to lead."
Looking each of them in the eye, she waited for their shocked expressions to melt and to hear their response.
"…I guess we have no choice then," Daisy resolved, catching the attention of Violet and Lily. "Girls, pack your bags."
Her shoulders drooping, Violet slowly got up and walked out of the kitchen, with Lily moping not far behind her.
"They seem a little upset," Misty noted sarcastically.
Now it was Daisy's turn to roll her eyes. "They'll get over it."
"Are you okay with what I said?"
She gave a sad smile and nodded. "I know you've grown up. I guess I'm just so used to you being my little sis that I kinda forgot you have your own boyfriend, your own Pokémon…your own life."
"Well, that doesn't mean I don't wanna be a part of the family anymore," Misty explained, a little worried by the glossiness of her sister's eyes. "I mean, I'll still come home a lot and talk with you all the time, of course."
"I know you will," Daisy answered, sniffling a little. "I'm not sad about that. It's just…"
"What?"
"It's just that every time you leave, I always thought 'oh, she'll be back', but now I'm starting to realize that you're, like, really not moving back in again. Even when you left with that Ash kid last year, I knew you'd come back, and you did! But now…now I know you're not."
Despite her statements from earlier, Misty felt herself begin to grow upset too.
"To tell the truth, I think I was even a little happy when I had to tell you we were having trouble because it meant you might be coming back." A tear rolled down her cheek, and Misty felt her heart break a little. "I guess I just really am gonna miss you when you're gone."
Now it was Misty's time to tear up a little. "I'll miss you too, Daisy. But like I said, I'll come home a lot, no matter where I am. It's not like this is goodbye forever or anything."
"I know," the sad smile remained, but her voice inflected a more upbeat tone. "Now isn't it time for you to, like, get going? It's still a long drive to Vermillion from here."
"I probably should," she resolved, standing up from her chair. Daisy followed suit and the two sisters walked out of the kitchen together. However, before she went upstairs, Misty turned and gave Daisy a strong hug.
Reciprocating the squeeze, Daisy smiled. "I love you too little sis."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"I don't know if we can, Ash."
"Whaddya mean? It can't be against the rules, can it?"
"It's not that," Steven explained over the videophone. Though the image on the Pokécenter's telecommunication device was a little grainy, Ash could see that the champion appeared quite tired. "There's something going on right now that has the League, and the G-Men in particular, a little worried."
"What is it?"
"I can't really tell you over the phone," he explained, looking worried. "All I can say is that we think Team Rocket's up to something big. Our informants have caught wind of some big operation they have, and it involves some high-leveled person in the Pokémon League."
"Do you know who they want?"
"Not yet, which is causing a lot of problems. It's actually funny that you called because you were next on my list of people to warn."
"Warn?"
"Yeah, since we don't know who the target is, we're basically playing it safe and calling all Pokémon League officials and telling them to be careful the next few days as we try to figure out what's going on. It's been crazy around here."
"It sounds like it," Ash agreed, "but is there any way at all you could help them out? They've been getting letters saying the gym is going to be closed down soon if they don't start winning, and Misty can't go back there to help them anymore."
Steven closed his eyes and rubbed his left temple for a moment. Whether he was thinking or simply annoyed was beyond Ash, but once he looked back into the phone, a smile appeared. "Wait, the Cerulean Gym? Isn't that a water thing?"
"Yeah, that's their specialty."
His smile widened. "I think I may have the perfect person for the job. My old friend, Wallace, was the Hoenn Champion a few years ago while I traveled, and he specialized in the water type. He's one of the smartest guys I know."
Ash searched his brain for a moment, but couldn't remember the champion before Steven. "I don't think I've heard of him. Where is he?"
"Oh, I think he mostly is into contests now, but I'm pretty sure he'd be willing to help if I gave him a call."
"Wait, contests?" A certain blue-haired male coordinator popped into his mind.
"Yeah, you may have heard of him back when he was travelling in Sinnoh. He's one of their contest masters now."
"I think I met him," Ash stated, thinking back to the rather extravagantly dressed man. "He was wearing a cape and a beret or something."
Steven laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like him. He was always dressing up like that, but he had the strength to back it up. Anyway, I think he'd be perfect for coaching these women."
"You think he would do it?"
"Sure!" Steven's smile grew bigger. "He's always asking if I need anything, so now I have something for him. He can use the island off of Hoenn that you trained on, and I'll get some gym leaders from around Hoenn to help out too."
"Really? Thank you!" Ash cried cheerfully.
"No problem. I'll make some calls and get back to you this evening with details."
"Alright, I should be here at the Center, but if I'm not, then you can call my cell phone."
"Right." He appeared ready to turn off the monitor, but stopped his hand halfway to the screen. "Oh! And Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. We really don't know what Team Rocket's up to, so we need everyone on high alert. If something bad or suspicious catches your eye, call me immediately."
Ash chuckled lightly. "Alright, but I don't think Team Rocket's gonna be giving us anymore problems after all we've done."
"Pika-chu!"
"He thinks so too."
Steven gave a small smile. "Alright, but you can never be too sure."
"Right." With a nod, Ash turned off the screen and returned to his room for yet another speech rehearsal. He was scheduled to speak in less than twenty-four hours and he needed all the practice he could get.
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"Like, I guess we'll see you around," Lily said, still a little bitter. Her and Violet now had five rather large suitcases waiting for them by the door for when they were picked up by the League for "boot camp".
Not feeling the love, Misty gave a quick nod. "I'll call you guys this evening after Ash tells me the details so you can know when to expect to leave and come back home. He was only gone for a couple weeks, so I'm sure it won't be much longer than that."
"Whatever," Violet responded, rolling her eyes.
"Like, don't listen to her," Daisy interrupted. "When you come back, we'll be like all new trainers!"
Though neither of her sisters seemed to feel the same excitement, Misty wished them all luck and said she looked forward to it. "I'll stop by after this competition thing is over for the night before heading back to the airport, so could you give me an extra key?"
"Like, sure," Daisy reached into a drawer in a desk by the front door and pulled out a plastic card with a black stripe across its middle. "Just swipe it in when you get back."
"Thanks." The two sisters hugged briefly once more before pulling away. "See ya soon!"
"Good luck little sis!" Daisy waved as Misty headed out the door and around the side to the family vehicle. As she pulled out, she turned on the navigation system and headed south towards Vermillion. She sighed as the automated voice informed her that twenty hours of driving lay ahead of her.
"This'll be fun."
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"Hey Misty!" Ash voice reverberated around the small vehicle's interior as Misty's phone sat, plugged into the phone adaptor. "How's the drive going?"
"Not so good, actually. It feels like my legs are gonna fall off if I sit here much longer."
"How long have you been on the road?"
"Six hours so far. I'm gonna stop in a couple more for the night, but I need to get there before three o'clock tomorrow, so I'm trying to cover as much ground as I can before it gets dark. So what's up with the training? Did Steven say they would do it?"
"Actually, they can't right now."
"Oh man," she groaned.
Why didn't I wait to give them that speech?
"It's alright though, Mist!" he reassured quickly. "Steven told me that he's gonna get his old friend, Wallace, to train them. Wallace was the Hoenn Champion a few years ago and he specializes in water Pokémon so it should be a perfect match!"
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I can't imagine after the discussion we had having to go back and tell them that it was off…that would have been awkward."
"They didn't wanna go, huh?"
She smiled. "Not at all. So why couldn't Steven and Cynthia help them out like they did with you? Is it against some rule or something?"
"Nah," Ash replied, sounding almost bored. "Team Rocket's up to something again, and they're saying it could be a big deal. They're not sure, but they think Giovanni wants to hurt someone high in the League."
"Oh, wow."
"Yeah. I told him I don't think we have to worry about that after I beat Paul. Giovanni's too scared now."
She rolled her eyes despite the fact she was alone in the car. "I think you're being a little too careless about this Ash. I mean, just because you won a really hard Pokémon battle doesn't mean they can't hurt you…we know that better than most people."
"…yeah, I guess we do."
There was a moment of silence as the two reflected on how the syndicate had changed their lives for the worst early in their childhoods.
"But you're right," Misty suddenly interjected, shaking her head as she tried to clear it of the depressing memories. "I don't think they'd mess with you anymore after that. You're one of the strongest trainers around. I bet they'll target like the President of the League or someone else who doesn't battle that would be easy to take care of."
"I bet so too," he agreed, all too eager to drop that subject completely. "So where are you now?"
"I'm almost to Saffron. I'll probably go a little past there and then stop for the night. Where are you?"
"I flew Altaria over to Jubilife for the speech, and I've been locked in my room all day practicing."
"Good," she nodded her approval. "You need to know that speech inside and out."
"I know Mist, I know. You've told me a million times now."
"Yeah, but that's because I have to if I want it to sink into your thick skull." She snickered as he scoffed over the phone.
"I don't have to take this!"
"Yeah you do. You're my boyfriend, remember?"
"I don't think that means you have the right to treat me badly all you want."
"I'm pretty sure it does, actually," she teased.
"Hmph," he muttered. Another moment of silence followed before he continued. "Hey Mist?"
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking about something earlier. You said that your sisters don't have janitors or anything like that anymore to keep the gym clean, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"I thought you told me and Brock that you guys didn't have to pay for maids and janitors when we first went back to the gym?"
"Yeah, but apparently the League's stopped sending them over because they stop funding gyms that have less than two months before they are shut down. I guess they were just trying to save money by not sending anyone."
"Less than two months? I can't believe it got so close before you heard about it!"
She sighed. "Me neither. I don't know how I would have found out if I hadn't come home yesterday. They didn't even know how close they came to completely losing everything, which is kinda scary. Can you imagine if I had been in Sinnoh and just got a call from them saying that they were homeless?"
"That would have been bad," he noted. "I don't think I could stand having them travel around Sinnoh with us for very long."
She laughed at the statement while speeding down the highway. "Well, I better let you go Mist. I need to get something to eat for supper, and then I'm gonna go to bed early so I get plenty of rest."
"Lucky," she muttered. "It's only seven o'clock. Why don't you keep me company a little longer?"
"Okay. I'll bring the phone with me while I go get supper."
She looked up at the car's roof. "You mean you can't wait to eat like ten minutes to talk to your beautiful girlfriend?"
"Fine, I'll keep talking," he moaned sarcastically. "So what do you wanna talk about?"
"…I'm not sure."
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The next day, arriving on campus promptly at half an hour after two, a travel-weary Misty finally pulled into a parking spot in front of the large battle stadium.
"Wow," she muttered, getting out of the car and stretching. She'd seen the concrete behemoth on television before, but in person it appeared so much larger. It towered over her small frame at a height of fifteen floors, and there was a large night light on each rounded corner, all facing the middle of the field for matches played in the dark.
"Just made it," she noted with a smile as she dropped her cell phone back in its pocket.
Checking her belt for her pokéballs, she shut the door and approached the large structure. The stadium appeared to have many gated entrances, but there was one with an older man in a sweat suit and a fold out chair beside one of them, so she decided to try it first.
"Um, excuse me?"
"What do you want?" he murmured, not looking up from the newspaper he was currently engaged in.
"I'm here for the tryouts for the Pokémon Battling Scholarship. The message said we were supposed to report here by three o'clock."
"That's true." He turned a page but still didn't look up.
"Um, can I go in then?"
"You may not."
"What?" Her respectful demeanor vanished in an instant. "Why not?"
"It's three-thirty," he answered with a shrug.
She checked her phone. "No it's not, it's two-thirty!" She pointed to the screen. "See?"
The man observed his watch for a moment. "Listen lady, I don't know what kind of clock that phone has, but it's not on Vermillion time. There were about a thousand trainers out here just thirty minutes ago waiting to be let in, and now they're gone."
"How could that be?" She checked her clock again, and suddenly a realization dawned upon her.
I'm still on Canalave time! Sure enough, after checking the settings of her clock, she saw that she had left the device on the western Sinnoh setting.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" she fumed. The clock in her sisters' car was even on the right time, but she hadn't thought to check it after looking at her phone during a short break she'd taken during the drive.
"Nope," he answered, back to his paper.
"Look, is there any way I could still be let in?"
"Not unless you have a time machine of some sort. The rules are the rules, after all."
Her face grew darker as the man seemed to ignore the urgency in her voice. "But I traveled all the way here from Sinnoh! I drove here from Cerulean in less than two days, and I practically haven't slept! There has to be some way that you can let me in!"
"Is your dad President of the Pokémon League?" he asked sarcastically.
She suddenly smiled. There may be a way to get in yet.
"No, but my boyfriend is the Sinnoh Champion."
Suddenly, the man's grip on his paper tightened, and he slowly lowered it and looked up at the redhead. "You mean Ash Ketchum is your boyfriend?"
She nodded. "He said goodbye to me at the airport. It's a shame, too, because he was wanting to come to this school, but if I don't get this scholarship, then I can't go, and then he definitely won't be coming here."
"Ash Ketchum wants to come to VU?" This caused him to drop his paper altogether. "That would be great! He could be a real inspiration for some of our other trainers!"
"Well, yeah, he woulda been…except I'm not getting to compete for the scholarship, so why would he go now?"
After a moment of thought, the man stuck out his hand. "You are now! Welcome to Vermillion University! I'm Coach Jenkins!" He roughly grabbed her hand and began shaking it with quite a bit of force.
"Wait. You're the coach?"
"Sure am! Sydney Jenkins here! Head Coach of the Vermillion University Pokémon Battling Team! National champions five years ago!" He continued shaking her hand throughout this, and she successfully pulled it away after feeling as if it were about to be ripped out of the socket.
"Why are you out here, sir?"
"I don't normally sit around watching all those trainers trying to compete for ten spots. It's depressing, and what's even more depressing is how bad some of 'em are. I'm hoping you're not one of those kinds."
"Uh, no. I'm Misty Waterflower of the Cerulean Gym! I'm Ash's girlfriend, remember?"
He shook his head. "I know who Ash Ketchum is, of course, but I have no interest in anyone's personal life beyond my own. I can't keep up with all of those tabloids and whatnot."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. You're a busy man." She blushed a little at her arrogance in thinking that the coach would simply recognize her from a magazine cover or television interview.
"Well, if you're a gym leader, why aren't you just using the GLI to get in like the others? We had two gym leaders automatically accepted this month to our scholarship program. One's from Kleinwood, and the other's from Lufkin."
This caused her to blush even more profusely. "Um, actually, our gym wasn't in a high enough tier for me to be accepted. I left it with my sisters while I went and traveled with Ash, and I guess it fell a little."
"Hm, I see." He gave her a serious look. "Now listen, I wasn't actually gonna turn you away when you showed up late."
Puzzled, she asked, "You weren't?"
He laughed aloud. "Of course not! You had a good excuse after travelling this far, and I've already let two other guys go ahead of you after they had similar stories. I was just wanting to see if you really wanted it or not."
"I really do," she nodded eagerly. "More than anything!"
"Good. But I'm telling you this so you don't think for a second that we're gonna take it easy on you here. Just because you might be able to bring Ash Ketchum here doesn't mean you get to battle the easy trainers or just automatically get the scholarship. You'll have to work for it."
She gave him a confident smirk. "I wouldn't expect anything else! I'm here to earn that spot."
"That's good to hear." He smiled and pointed her to the entrance. "Just walk through the entrance and they'll sign you in and give you a training suit.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Are you ladies prepared to leave?" A chauffeur in a black suit stood outside the Cerulean Gym as the three sisters clutched their respective suitcases.
"Like, I guess we are," Violet sighed. "We may as well hurry up and get this over with."
"Alright then, please follow me. I will be driving you to the airport where a private League plane has been chartered by Champion Lance to take the three of you to Padre Island where you will begin your training."
The three followed him out to the limousine, and after they shut the door, Jessie, James, and Meowth finally emerged from the broom closet they'd been hiding in the entire morning.
"Thank goodness that's over," Jessie complained, stretching her tired limbs. "As usual, we should have taken my advice."
"You complain too much Jessie," James stated. "My plan worked, didn't it? We made it inside!"
She snorted. "We could have just broken in after the twerpette's sisters left like any good criminal. And never tell me I complain too much again. I have plenty to complain about after travelling with you Slowpokes for so long."
"But we're tryin'a be da good guys dis time, remember?"
"Yeah, good guys don't break into people's houses while they're gone Jess."
She gave him a sinister glare. "Good people don't hide in their closets waiting for them to leave, either."
"How could I have known that? I'm new to this 'not being bad' thing! Besides, how could we have broken in? Gyms always have so many alarms in them to keep thieves out."
She sneered. "Fine. I guess it was worth it."
"Can you imagine if we'd broken in and gotten caught by the police?"
"Can's you imagine what woulda happened to da twerpette if we'd been caught?" All three shuddered at the memory of their boss's plan.
"I just can't believe the Boss would do something like this." Jessie sounded almost heartbroken. "He's been my idol for so long! I always thought he was the perfect criminal, but now…"
James looked down in shame. He too had been rattled by the boss's plan. Though they'd always considered themselves mildly evil, the thought of committing, or even assisting, a murder had absolutely rocked their faith in the criminal syndicate.
"I don't know if we're in the right crowd anymore, Jess."
The redheaded woman looked up, shocked at what she heard. She'd thought the same thing the last few weeks, but this was the first anyone had spoken aloud of it. "What are you saying James?"
"Yeah James, whaddya mean?" Meowth gave him a curious look.
"Well, I mean, is this what we wanna be part of? Stealing Pokémon is fun, and blowing stuff up is lots of fun, but…"
"But not when you have to do stuff like this," Jessie concluded. "I liked Team Rocket when I was younger because they treated me like an adult. I had a job, met you two, and got to do whatever I wanted, but I never thought about all the really bad stuff Team Rocket must have been doing all that time we were just chasing that Pikachu around the world."
"Me neither," Meowth admitted. "When the Boss found me, I was just a stray, and I felt so happy to just have somewhere I belonged, but now I can't believe I liked dat guy!"
"So what do you think?" James asked, looking at his two best friends in the relatively dark gym hallway. "Should I take it off?" He gripped the collar of his white "R"-labeled shirt.
Nodding, Jessie grabbed the bottom of her white tank top, and together they lifted the shirts and threw them to the ground.
"Wow, you guys look different," Meowth noted as the two stood in their black undershirts. "Now I kinda wish I had a shirt or sometin' too to t'row off."
"Well what do we do now?" James asked. He held a black phone with a red "R" on the back up. "The Boss – I mean – Giovanni wanted us to call him as soon as she got here."
Jessie took the phone from his hand. "We're obviously not gonna do that." She dropped it on the ground with a thud. "Still, though, he's gonna be suspicious if he doesn't hear from us soon, and then he'll send that Mallory twerp anyway."
"We just need to make sure da twerpette's long gone by the time she gets here!" Meowth noted. "And us too, of course."
"Right," James nodded. "I'm actually surprised that the boss had enough confidence in us to give us this job in the first place. It seems like he could have just let Mallory wait out here."
"He didn't want to waste her precious time, remember? We're just distractions until they can come. I guess he didn't want any of his valuable members getting in trouble."
"Oh yeah," James answered. "So what do we do until she gets back?"
"Hey guys! Remember dat pool dey had? Let's go for a swim!"
The ominous tone of the conversation was instantly dropped at the suggestion as all three ran to the water arena.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Here it is, Pikachu," Ash noted. Before the duo stood an impressively-sized glass tower. "You ready?"
"Pika!" The rodent gave a small thumbs-up and Ash nodded in turn.
"Let's do it!" He walked briskly through the sliding doors, past the receptionist, who didn't waste time asking for identification for entry, and into the gold-door elevator. Pressing for the twelfth floor, a woman's voice rang throughout the compartment.
"Floor twelve, Sinnoh League Conference room."
As they flew upwards, Ash reached into his jeans pocket and felt the note cards, checking for what felt like the millionth time that day to ensure he hadn't left his speech behind by accident.
"I wonder if I shoulda dressed up?" he asked Pikachu, who remained tightly clung to his shoulder. Though the formal even almost seemed impossible not to dress up for, Lance had cautioned over the phone that he was there to represent the trainer half of the Pokémon League.
"Only the business people wear suits. Just wear your regular clothes, because that's what we are. We're not in it for the money or power like them; we're in it because we love Pokémon."
"I guess he was right, though."
The elevator slowly came to a halt as the lit numbers overhead approached his destined floor. When twelve was finally lit, the corridor came to a complete halt, and the doors slowly opened up.
"Ah!" He covered his eyes as dozens of cameras suddenly focused their attention on him. Reporters hurriedly shuffled around him, holding microphones in one hand and pencils and pads in the other.
"Mr. Ketchum, do you think you can get the Pokémon League to change its mind?"
"Do you think Cynthia failed gym leaders of Sinnoh?"
"How do you think your proposed amendments to the current system will benefit the League and trainers in general?"
More questions and more flashes came as the champion did his best to fight his way through to the door of the conference room. "E-excuse me. Pardon me." He rattled off apology after apology as he tried to walk through the cluster of reporters in the rather narrow hallway that led to the room. He hadn't anticipated that they would wait outside.
"Can you get away from him?" Cynthia's voice finally cried over the hustle of the reporters. "Maybe he'll talk to you afterward, but he's busy right now." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the door.
To his surprise, they were still not actually in the conference center, but rather a small in-between space. The actual entrance stood before them, and Cynthia quickly looked him over. "I'm glad to see that you listened to Lance. No need pretending you're something that you're not." She gave him a small smile as he nodded shakily. "You nervous?"
"A little," he admitted. The run-in with the paparazzi only helped to remind him of how much attention his small speech was gathering in the Sinnoh region.
"Don't worry about it. This will be way easier than any battle you've ever had. Just remember that we're all rooting for you in there."
A curious look crossed his face. "Did any gym leaders come?"
"Did any?" She appeared as if she were almost ready to laugh. "Thirty-nine came, and the other twenty all sent messages wishing you good luck! You've got a pretty big fan base in there. Byron actually brought signs to hold up, I think."
This news caused Ash to laugh despite the situation. "That's good to hear…I guess."
She glanced down at her watch, and then gave the champion a questioning glance. "It's time. You ready?"
He nodded his head quickly, and Pikachu did the same. He wanted to get out there before the nerves had another chance to overcome his confidence.
"Alright then," she pushed the door open for him and he walked through.
"And now, I will turn the mic over to my counterpart," announced David Cornell, the current President of the Sinnoh League, gesturing towards the champion in the back of the room, "Ash Ketchum, our current Champion."
Applause roared through the room as the teenager and Pokémon made their way down the center aisle of what appeared to Ash to be more of a movie theater than a conference room. There were only around two hundred seats, and they were all aligned in rows to face the front stage, where a lone podium with the Sinnoh League insignia embossed on the front stood. The backdrop provided was the skyline of Jubilife viewed through one of the large windows.
Slowly taking the stage, the two shook hands, and the President leaned in. "Good luck," he whispered, before pulling back and walking offstage.
For a moment, Ash watched as he strolled away, wondering if he was being sarcastic or earnest, before turning his attention back to the many cheering leaders and their families. He noted that though the applause was quite loud, most of those in suits and ties remained fairly quiet as he took the podium.
"Um, thank you," he said, causing even more claps and cheering. "I appreciate the feedback," he quipped, reading the line from off his first card. Misty had thought it up for this situation, and he silently thanked her for it as some began to laugh.
Clearing his throat, and allowing the applause to completely settle down, he looked down at his colored cards, and then back up at the waiting audience.
"I've been doing a lot of work lately on becoming a Pokémon Master. However, today I'm here as the Sinnoh Champion, and as such, the head of the Sinnoh Pokémon League."
Some of the suits shook their heads at the statement, and Ash responded quickly. "Of course, I share this responsibility with President Cornell, but we all know that the Pokémon League isn't just about making money. It's about people and Pokémon, coexisting and thriving together." The words slipped off his tongue like turpentine after so much practice, and he confidently kept his eyes up and away from the written text before him.
"As the Champion, it is my responsibility to make sure that the gym leaders and trainers of Sinnoh are treated fairly and with respect." He took a pause and looked around the room. He had everyone's full attention now, and he took a breath before leaning into the microphone and plunging ahead. "That's why I'm here today. For too long, the Sinnoh Pokémon League has disrespected the very people who make it what it is; the gym leaders."
Murmurs of dissent or agreement spouted up throughout the mixed audience. "You already know what I'm talking about. The Pokémon League of Sinnoh does not, for some reason, pay its gym leaders for regular repair and upkeep of their gyms. They have to pay for these expenses, including cleaning and washing the floors and stadiums, from their paychecks."
More murmuring began, but now he ignored it as he continued. "The numbers show that the average gym leader is paid slightly higher than the median income of all Sinnoh citizens, but with this normal payment, they're expected to do great things including paying for cracks and holes in their floors and walls from tough battles, feeding up to dozens of different Pokémon at a time, and of course keep winning all of their battles." He gave himself a small smile, glad he'd practiced this so much, and even happier Misty had helped him. He sounded like a politician on T.V., and he was sure from the expressions of many in the audience that he was surprising the majority with his knowledge of the issue.
"In conclusion, I think we need to follow in the steps of the League in Johto and Kanto and begin paying our leaders an additional funding aside from their salary which would compensate them for their winning. This would give them more money to run the gym, and take a lot of unnecessary stress away from them so they could focus on making Sinnoh the most difficult and feared of all regions."
Following the ending, many of the leaders clapped and whistled, and Ash did indeed see a sign with "Best Champion Ever" and a crudely drawn portrait of himself being hoisted up by Byron.
"Is the Champion making a request for a vote then?" asked the President from the back of the room. He held a personal microphone in his hand.
"Uh, yes I am," he answered, blushing that he'd forgotten to mention that at the end.
"Before we proceed, I think that a few members have some questions they would like answered," noted a man in a tan suit near the front. "Is the Champion open to questions?"
"Any and all," he replied, a bigger smile on his face. This was the real test, and he gave Pikachu a small smile to his side.
The President handed the microphone to a man near the back with large rim glasses and a nasally voice. "I would like to thank the Champion for taking time away from his schedule to talk with us today, first of all. However, my question is where do you expect the money for this project to come from?"
"Thank you for the question," he recited back, remembering the etiquette Misty had trained him on for this session. "To answer, the Sinnoh League is actually one of the richest. We have way more money saved than Kanto or Hoenn, and Johto's barely beating us."
"Yes," interrupted the man, "except a large amount of that money is tied up in stocks. Do you even know what stocks are?" There were a few chuckles in the audience, and Ash felt his cheeks warm.
"Yes I do, actually." Thanks to Misty, of course, but I do. "And our numbers show that we have been losing money on several industrial stocks the last three years. These would be great to sell for the money we'd need to pay the leaders."
Though he was in the back, Ash could have sworn he made out the image of the man's shocked expression as his eyebrows went high. "Um…thank you." He gave the microphone back to the President, who went down the aisle and gave it to a young woman in a pantsuit.
"That's all fine and good that you know what an industrial stock is, and how our market is doing, apparently, but did you know that Sinnoh League gym leaders are paid higher on average than any other group of gym leaders in the four regions?"
He nodded. "But they're only paid a little more on average than Kanto leaders, and I bet they'd give up a little money in return for not having to pay their own repairs any more. It's not fair that they have to use their money to pay for League property." He looked down at his card and remembered an important comparison. "You work in an office, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"What if a Spearow flew into your window and broke the glass? Would you have to pay for it?"
"Um, well no."
"Who would?"
She squirmed a little. "I guess the Pokémon League would."
"So why should the leaders have to pay when a Pokémon attack destroys the battlefield?"
"Because that's League property!" yelled another woman a few rows closer to the champion. "The leaders should be more careful when handling it!"
He gave the woman a questioning glance as several gym leaders to his right began booing the statement. "So are you saying that our gym leaders shouldn't try their best to win? And what about the opponent's Pokémon? They usually cause most of the damage…I know that for a fact!"
A few people laughed, and the woman sat back down. Seeing that the situation seemed to be getting out of control, the President quickly strode down the aisle and snatched the microphone away. "I'm sorry, but I need to say something here. I normally don't like interfering with affairs of the League when they help our loyal leaders, but I think everyone is forgetting why we voted down Cynthia when she proposed this same idea years ago."
"Why did you?" Ash questioned, curious as to what his response would be.
"Because it simply wasn't practical. What would stop these leaders from abusing the system and using the money we gave them for repairs on themselves for nothing related to their gym duties? In Kanto there have been a few reports of those kinds of problems. We must be careful with our money."
Ash sighed. "There are fifty-nine gym leaders in Sinnoh right now. Out of those, thirty-two have families, and out of those thirty-two, after paying for repairs, only one stayed above the poverty line." The air seemed to leave the room at that last statement. "Do you know what this means? It means that the gym leaders, our League representatives, have kids going hungry at nights because we're not willing to spend a few extra dollars to pay for reparations, but we also say that they can't keep the gym unless it's in top condition."
"But what about the abuse?" the President persisted. Despite the solidarity in his tone, sweat began to bead atop his bold head, and he reached for his kerchief.
"Those who abused the system in Kanto were caught weren't they? If that happens here, we'll catch them too, but I think the big question is whether or not you trust your gym leaders enough to try this system…do you?"
The question caused a hush to fall upon the crowd as they awaited his answer.
"…I guess you have a point." He sounded disappointed, and Ash had a feeling he would still rather they vote the measure down. "Of course, I still have the veto power of the League, so I will need to think about this before signing it…that is, if it's even voted through here."
"I guess we'll find out." He smiled as the applause rang through the room once again, now with both sides joining in.
Author's Notes: Again, not a huge exciting chapter, but we've now seen Ash's speech (though not its outcome quite yet) along with gotten Misty to Vermillion for her competition. We also dealt with the Waterflower sisters, and we see what path Jessie, James, and Meowth have chosen (did anyone think they were actually going to go through with planning her murder? Too OOC for me). Next chapter, though, things start to heat up, so I hope you enjoyed the cool-down session of these last two chapters because this story's going to be twisting, turning, freaking you out, and surprising you until its conclusion from here on out.
Well, whether you liked it or hated it, PLEASE REVIEW and let me know. I appreciate all feedback, and will take all criticism to heart to improve this story's quality.
Well, until next time, later days!