Hey readers - Here we are with another new chapter : )
Sorry it's a bit later in the day than I usually post, but I've been SUPER busy the last few days, so I only just got finished proof-reading this chapter this morning. Beyond that though, I don't have an awful lot to say this time, so let's just get straight down to business. I'm actually cheering to announce that the winner of the last voting topic was... Lickitung! HOORAY! This is the one that I wanted, but I didn't think anyone would vote for it. For some reason, Lickitung doesn't seem to get a lot of love, but it's actually one of my favourite designed Pokemon from the entire Kanto Pokedex. It's just so... unique, and you can imagine how overjoyed I was when it was given an evolution in Generation Four. I keep hoping that one day they'll give it a baby pre-evolution too, and then the line would be fully complete : ) Either way, I'm thrilled about this one, so thank you to those of you that voted for Lickitung : D
Finally, I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support that has been shown to the story is amazing, and it means so much to me, so thank you : )
Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OC's are : )
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
The Waterflowers of Cerulean City - Part 2
"You're the WHAT?!"
Nolan was staring at Misty as though the girl had just grown a second head. His icy blue eyes were almost comically wide with shock, and he was fully aware that his bottom jaw was probably hanging somewhere around his knees. He probably looked like a mindless idiot to any passers-by, but the golden haired boy honestly couldn't have cared less in that moment. He just sat there, gaping at his female friend in sheer disbelief. And really, who could blame him? After all, it wasn't every day that you found out that one of your travelling companions was secretly...
"The gym leader" Misty admitted in a whisper, trying to stay calm in the face of her friend's shocked outburst, and in all likelihood failing miserably, "Well, one of them at least. There are four of us in total".
Nolan closed his mouth. Then opened it again to say something, anything, but words failed him. So he just silently shut it again. This was... this was almost too much for him to get his head around. It actually almost defied all comprehension. Misty was a gym leader? He had been travelling with a gym leader for a lot longer than he had originally thought, and he hadn't even realised it. Or more accurately, he hadn't been made aware of it. But why hadn't Misty told them anything about this sooner? Why was it such a big secret? You'd have thought that something as significant as being a gym leader would have come up in conversation after all, especially after Brock had stepped down from the position himself and joined them on their travels. Nolan couldn't help but feel rather hurt that his friend hadn't trusted him enough to tell him this important detail about herself, and judging by the dark expressions that were clouding Ash's and Brock's faces, they both felt the same way.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ash was the one who asked the obvious question on all three of the boys' minds. His voice was flat, lacking any of the usual energy and enthusiasm which it normally carried. Now he just sounded tired.
If anything, that just made Misty feel worse about herself.
"You guys have to understand, I wasn't trying to deceive you in any way" Misty opened up with, desperate for her friends to understand, even though deep down she knew that they had a right to feel somewhat hurt by her secret, "It's just... when I first met you guys... When I realised that you guys had no idea of my status as a gym leader... it was nice".
Nolan frowned in confusion. He hadn't been expecting something like that to be the girl's justification, although it did drive home one vitally important fact.
It showed that Misty hadn't kept this from them out of spite.
The golden haired boy could admit that the realisation did make him feel a little bit better about everything he had just learnt, but it also presented him with a couple of new questions. For example - Why wasn't Misty screaming about it from the rooftops? To become a gym leader in general took an awful lot of skill, but for somebody who was as young as Misty was, it was practically unheard of. In certain ways, it could be argued that it actually made her a child prodigy when it came to raising Pokemon. Anybody should feel proud of such an amazing accomplishment, and yet it could not have been more obvious that Misty most certainly did not. But why was that? What could possibly have been so terrible that she would denounce her position, or at the very least run away from it, and not even mention it to her friends? It just didn't make any sense to him, so Nolan was determined to get some proper answers.
"Nice?" the golden haired boy repeated with a confused expression on his face, "Why is that nice? I don't understand".
Misty took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to be easy to explain without raising even more awkward questions.
"It was nice because... because it made it clear that you guys genuinely wanted to be my actual friends, and weren't just trying to use me because of my position and status" the orange haired girl wearily began to explain.
A look of abject horror flashed across all three of the different boys' faces.
"Of course we wanted to be real friends with you!" Ash cried out, slightly hurt by the insinuation that their reasons for befriending Misty were anything but sincere, "We are real friends!"
Nolan on the other hand could understand the point that his female friend was trying to make. He knew there were unfortunately certain people out there that would try and buddy up to a gym leader, particularly one as remarkably young as Misty was, so that they could exploit her and her position for their own gain. It was twisted and wrong, but sadly also likely to happen on a semi-frequent basis. It made sense that given the implied history, Misty needed to approach potential new friends with an air of caution.
Misty sent a small sad sigh in the raven haired boy's direction.
"I know that now Ash, but I didn't know that when we first met each other" the girl reasoned logically, and Ash was forced to admit that she had a valid point there, "For all I knew back then, you and Nolan might have figured out exactly who I was at any point during that day in the Viridian City Pokemon City, and tried to use me to jump-start your own careers when it came to training Pokemon. It wouldn't be the first time that someone I thought might be a friend turned out to be a fake and I was put in that horrible position. I didn't want to risk it happening again until I knew for sure that I could trust you both".
All of the boys were silent as they digested the point that Misty was trying to make. Their feelings of hurt were beginning to lessen, giving way to understanding and sympathy instead.
"I just hope I haven't lost your trust in the process" Misty said miserably, and it was more than a little obvious that this had been a heavy burden for her to carry all on her own, "I'm really sorry for keeping all of this a secret from all of you for so long. I know that I should have told you sooner. I'm really sorry".
Her vermillion coloured eyes were suspiciously bright, and Nolan could just tell that his friend was trying desperately hard to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall. That was enough to soften his heart entirely, and with the kindness that was such a prevalent part of his personality, he instantly tried his best to comfort the girl that in such a short time had already become one of his dearest friends.
"No Misty. I'm sorry" he said, and the girl in question snapped her gaze up to meet his, surprise written all over her face, "I'm sorry that you felt you needed to go to such extreme measures to protect yourself from being hurt. I... we... we completely understand why you chose to keep this a secret. Don't we guys?"
He threw Ash and Brock a rather pointed look.
"Of course we do" Brock said immediately, giving Misty a sympathetic pat on her arm which managed to coax a small smile out of her, "I actually had similar experiences myself, but because I was also looking after my brothers and sisters full time, I had a big enough distraction to keep people like that at bay. But my point is that if you ever want to talk about those kind of things, I'm here for you. We all are".
Misty's eyes continued to shine with unshed tears, but this time they were from both relief and intense gratitude.
"Thank you Brock. Thank you Nolan" the girl said in a small voice, relieved that they understood her reasons for what she had done and weren't angry with her. Everyone then turned to look at Ash, who had yet to speak up and voice his own opinions on the matter. Nolan gave him another look, and the raven haired boy sighed and allowed some of the tension in his shoulders to slip away.
"I'm not angry with you Misty for being careful with what you decide to tell us about yourself. We're all allowed our own secrets after all" he finally said, and because his tone couldn't be mistaken for anything but sincere, Misty knew that she was genuinely forgiven for unintentionally hurting her friends' feelings and smiled warmly at all of them, "But there's still one thing I don't understand. You seem... I dunno... almost ashamed of being a gym leader. Why is that?"
Nolan had to admit that his friend had a very good point there, and he was genuinely curious to see how Misty would respond to that particular question.
"You don't have to tell us if you really don't want to" the raven haired boy was quick to reassure his friend when Misty hesitated for quite some time, "I just want to understand better".
Misty sighed for what felt like the millionth time since this entire conversation had begun. She anxiously run her fingers through her hair, as she thought about how best to explain.
"Okay... before I begin I just want to say that there are parts of the job of being a gym leader that I'm very proud of myself for. I put in a lot of hard work, and so did my Pokemon, and I'm definitely not ashamed of the time I spent at the gym" the Water Type Pokemon Specialist said, and her friends could all tell that she was being utterly sincere in what she said, "But... but the only reason I even got to be a gym leader in the first place is because I inherited it. The Cerulean City Gym has been run by my family for generations now, and when my grandmother couldn't keep on top of the intense workload anymore, she was able to retire because me and my sisters were all expected to step up into the position. I didn't even really get much of a say in the matter".
Nolan couldn't help but feel a fresh wave of sympathy ripple throughout his entire body at his friend's admission.
"That can't have been easy" he said gently.
"It wasn't" Misty sighed in agreement, "But it wasn't even just having the responsibility forced upon me. I... I wanted the chance to earn my position as a gym leader, based on my own skills as a trainer. Instead I got to be one purely because of my ancestry. And... well, like I said before, it wasn't just me that was running the gym. My three sisters were all promoted to be gym leaders as well".
The boys just gave her a blank look. It was clear that none of them were able to see what relevance that detail had on the situation.
"My three older sisters" the orange haired girl elaborated upon noticing the looks of equal confusion etched into her friends' faces.
Nolan and Ash still weren't getting it, but Brock suddenly let out a noise of realisation, signalling that the penny had dropped for him at least.
"Ah" the aspiring Pokemon breeder said, now understanding everything, including why Misty wasn't looking back on her gym leader days with the fondness one might expect.
Sibling. Rivalry.
Two words which could perfectly sum up where the majority of Misty's negative attitude in relation to her status as a gym leader was stemming from. Sibling. Rivalry. Brock couldn't claim to understand exactly what Misty must be feeling in regards to her sisters. In his own family, he was the oldest of all his brothers and sisters, plus he had also been forced to fill the position of Mum and Dad for a very long time, so it was a completely different setup to most families. He did have some experience with the concept of sibling rivalry however, in that many of his youngest siblings struggled to find their position in amongst some of the older ones. It had led to many arguments and squabbles which he had been forced to break up, so although he had a concept of the subject, Brock struggled to relate to what Misty must have been feeling. And as for Nolan and Ash, neither of them had the slightest idea what it was like for the poor girl. They were both only children, and although they looked upon each other as brothers, it just wasn't the same thing. They might have become rivals when they'd become Pokemon trainers, but it was always a friendly rivalry. They never felt as if they had to prove anything against each other. Sadly, Misty had always been made to feel the complete opposite.
"Exactly" Misty nodded at Brock, realising that he now understood, but also understanding why it was hard for Nolan and Ash to be able to as well, "I'm not saying that I don't love my sisters very much, and I know that they love me in return, but when we were all gym leaders together, they did treat me quite badly sometimes. Well, most of the time actually. Their bullying behaviour become a major part of why I decided to leave in the end, and why I was so reluctant to come back here".
Nolan swallowed hard, feeling very sorry for his friend. It can't have been easy to endure that sort of treatment, especially from her own family, nor could it have been to admit it out loud either.
"I'm sorry Misty" the golden haired boy said sympathetically, "You know, if you don't want to come with us to the gym when we have our battles, me and Ash will completely understand. Won't we Ash?"
"Completely" Ash nodded seriously.
Misty gave her friends the biggest smile that she had been able to muster all day. She appreciated the out that they were trying to give her, but she graciously shook her head in response.
"Thanks, but no" the orange haired girl said determinedly, "They're my sisters, my family, and I refuse to hide from that. I'm not scared of them, they just tease me so much that sometimes I can't help but actually believe the things they tell me. And besides, I promised Nolan that I would be at his next gym battle after missing the one against Brock. I'm not going back on that just because things might be a bit uncomfortable at first".
"Well, whilst we're on that subject, perhaps you guys should start making your way to the Cerulean City Gym?" Brock chimed back into the conversation, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "After all, if Misty wants to leave here as quickly as possible, then it's only right that the two of you need to challenge the gym fairly soon".
Nolan nodded seriously in agreement, before the rest of Brock's words hit him, and he looked at the older boy curiously.
"You guys?" he repeated, a hint of confusion in his tone and expression, "You're not coming with us?"
Brock couldn't help but smile. Nolan was always very perceptive.
"No. I think that since this place makes Misty feel so uncomfortable, and because we agreed to leave Cerulean City as quickly as possible afterwards, it makes more sense for me to go and get the supplies that we'll need for the next lap of our journey" the aspiring Pokemon breeder explained and his friends could all see the logic in that, "Vermillion City is quite some distance from here after all, so we'll need to be properly equipped if we're going to get there safely. So whilst you guys are challenging the gym, I'll get everything in order and then meet up with you guys there later".
"Sounds good to me" Ash smiled, whilst Nolan and Misty both just silently nodded at him.
"Well if that's settled, I guess I'll see you guys later then" Brock announced as he stood up from the bench they had all been sitting on and made to leave, "Good luck with your battles against the gym leaders, Ash, Nolan. Hope it goes okay for you as well Misty".
And after giving the girl one last knowing look, Brock was gone.
"He's right, we should get moving" Nolan clapped his hands together bracingly as he also clambered to his feet, "Let's go Meadow".
Meadow, who had been napping whilst enjoying the warmth of the sun in a cluster of flowers a few feet away, lazily blinked her crimson eyes open.
"Bulba" she yawned, before dutifully trotting over to her beloved human's side.
Ash had also gathered up Pikachu, and the little Electric Type Pokemon was now happily riding on the raven haired boy's shoulder as he and Misty both stood up as well. They are now ready to go, or in Misty's case, as ready as she'd ever be.
"Right... well, since I know this city better than anyone, I guess I should probably lead the way" the young girl sighed.
Neither of the two boys at her side missed the trepidation in her tone.
"I really don't mind if you want to skip out on this you know" Nolan assured her kindly. Of course he would like his friends to watch his big battle and offer their support from the sidelines, but he didn't want to pressurize anybody into it. He couldn't call himself a true friend if he acted like that. And if there was one thing that was a certainty about the boy, it was that he was a true friend.
"No" Misty immediately shook her head, now fully resolute, "I have to do this".
And with that, she turned and marched off, a steely determination in every step she took. Ash and Nolan both shared a concerned look with each other, but didn't try to dissuade her from her chosen path. It was her decision after all, and besides, right now both of them had much bigger things to think about.
Namely, the next gym battle that they were both about to face.
Whatever Nolan had expected the Cerulean City Gym to look like, it wasn't the building that stood before him now.
The structure that Misty had led their group to was huge in comparison to the gym that Brock had run back in Pewter City. The most notable feature was its shape - a gigantic dome split into vivid yellow and hot pink stripes, making the place like eerily reminiscent of a circus tent. Towards the base of the dome however, the building levelled off, so Nolan knew that the gym had vertical walls inside. The cut-off point was edged by decorative sculptures of ocean waves that ran around the entire dome, but it was the gigantic statue built into the roof over the front doors which really drove home just which element of Pokemon this gym had devoted itself to. It was a Dewgong. Nolan couldn't help but admire the lifelike quality of the immense statue, and if he hadn't already known that it was a Water Type Pokemon gym, he'd have been left in no doubt after seeing something so impressive. Truly, the Cerulean City Gym was amazing to behold, and Nolan already found himself liking the place very, very much.
"So..." Misty said tentatively from her spot in between the two boys, "What do you guys think?"
Nolan glanced over at the girl in order to reply, and was surprised to see just how anxiously she was awaiting his response. Her friends' opinions on her gym were clearly very important to the orange haired girl, and Nolan couldn't help but feel a swell of affection for her. He grinned broadly as he put her out of her misery and answered the question.
"I think it's brilliant!" the golden haired boy practically crowed. Misty's whole face lit up in response, and she flashed him a relieved smile.
"Really?" Misty beamed, pleased that at least one of her friends like the imaginative building that she used to work in.
"Yeah" Nolan nodded his head earnestly, "I really like that Dewgong statue. Please don't tell him I said this, but I like your gym a lot better than Brock's.
"I agree" Ash admitted, feeling slightly bad about criticising their other friend's gym, but that didn't stop him from enthusiastically gesturing towards the colourful building standing in front of them, "I can't wait to see what the inside looks like. I bet a Water Type Pokemon gym will be really cool!"
Beyond thrilled at the positive reception that both of the boys had given her former workplace, Misty wasted no time in giving them both a playful nudge in the ribs with her elbows to get them moving.
"Come on then! I'll give you guys the VIP tour" she giggled happily.
Nolan and Ash were very excited by the offer of a guided tour of the gym, and so they both eagerly nodded their heads. Leading the way up the driveway, Misty swiftly approached the glass double doors that were the entrance to the gym, the two boys and their beloved Pokemon trailing along behind her. Wasting no time, the girl pushed open the glass doors with ease, and the group found themselves standing in a sleek and stylish reception area.
Nolan glanced around curiously, noticing some pictures on the wall of various fishing expeditions. Several impressive-looking fishing rods had also been bolted to the walls, no doubt simply to serve as decorative pieces. On the far side of the room next to another set of doors, there was a small fountain, and crystal clear water was trickling down into an ornamental pool surrounding it. It was all just as impressive as the exterior of the gym, and they hadn't even made it to the battlefield yet. Nolan couldn't wait to see what that would look like. If as much effort had been put into the care and attention to detail for that area of the building as the rest of the Cerulean City gym, then he had no doubts that it would be astonishingly beautiful.
"Wow..." Ash breathed in awe as he struggled to take everything in.
"Pika" Pikachu whispered from his spot on the boy's shoulder, his ears and tail bobbing about excitedly. Misty smiled and reached over to scratch the small yellow creature under his chin. He cooed happily at the attention he was receiving.
"Do you like it Pikachu?" Misty asked him playfully.
"Chaaa!" Pikachu nodded his furry little head, beaming brightly up at her. Misty smiled, and gently patted him on the head one last time, before she turned her attention to the small Grass Type Pokemon that was currently cuddled up in Nolan's arms.
"What about you Meadow? What do you think?" the orange haired girl cooed at the little green creature.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Meadow said excitedly. It was pretty obvious that she liked the place very much as well.
Misty beamed, and opened her mouth to say more, but sadly whatever words that she was about to give voice to were abruptly drowned out. Quite suddenly, and without any kind of warning whatsoever, a loud booming voice suddenly began speaking. Nolan jumped and looked around anxiously, startled by the voice. He quickly realised that it sounded as though it was being broadcast over a speaker system, at such a volume that nothing else had a hope of being heard over its cacophony.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the voice, which was male and obviously belonged to an event announcer of some sort, called out, "Boys and girls!"
"Oh no" Misty groaned, slapping a hand against her forehead, whilst her entire posture practically screamed of sudden but utter exhaustion.
"Please welcome the stars of our show!" the announcer continued over the speaker system, whilst Nolan and Ash both just stared at Misty in bewilderment, hoping for an explanation which sadly didn't come, "The sensational Cerulean City synchronized swimming sisters!"
A tremendous amount of screaming and applauding could suddenly be heard, echoing from somewhere further inside the gym.
"W-What's going on?" a surprised Ash managed to stammer out, "It sounds like the circus has come to town!"
"You're not too far off" Misty ground out through clenched teeth, practically spitting mad as the pieces all slotted together, "It's one of the stupid shows that my sisters like to put on because it gives them a chance to show off!"
"Shows..." Nolan repeated thoughtfully under his breath to himself, before his eyes lit up with realisation and he snapped his fingers as the answer hit him, "Oh! You're talking about the Water Ballets! Cerulean City is famous for them, but I had no idea that they were put on inside the actual gym!"
Misty threw him a look that was thoroughly unimpressed.
"Please tell me that you're not one of those guys that constantly ogles photographs of my sisters in those trashy magazines" the orange haired girl suddenly had a disgruntled expression, "The last thing I need is for you to start stroking their already large enough egos by fanboying over them and asking for their autographs!"
Nolan blushed an embarrassingly bright shade of pink at the accusation, and he quickly stammered out a response in defence of himself.
"I-I-I... I wasn't fanboying over your sisters!" he cried, but upon noticing Misty's rather sceptical look, the golden haired boy continued more insistently, "I wasn't! I was just saying that I'd heard the water ballets were worth a watch, or at least the magazines I read say they are!"
Misty narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly for a moment, but ultimately decided to just let the matter drop in favour of more important issues.
"Well it doesn't really matter either way" Ash quickly intervened before the opportunity for an argument to break out reared it's ugly head, "We didn't come here to watch a group of girls putting on a ballet. We came here so that you and I can hopefully earn the next gym badge we need to gain entry into the Pokemon League".
"Well said Ash" Misty concurred full-heartedly.
Nolan couldn't help but scowl at his two friends in mild annoyance. He hadn't suggested anything else. All he'd been doing was making an innocent remark.
"I'm fully aware of that, thank you" he bit back in a grumble, an unimpressed expression dancing across his features, "Besides, I also haven't forgotten that I'm the one who's challenging them first this time around".
Ash nodded seriously, thinking along similar lines. He remembered the deal that they had made back in Pewter City and he fully intended on honouring it.
"I know" the raven haired boy smiled warmly at his best friend, "And good luck for when the time comes Nolan. I'm sure you'll do brilliantly".
"You too" Nolan grinned back.
Before the small group of friends had the opportunity to continue with their conversation however, they all looked up as they heard the loud echoing voice of the announcer over the speaker system once more.
"Give it up everyone for the stars of the show!" the announcer boomed, and Nolan could hear the level of screaming and clapping getting louder and louder, "Misses Daisy! Violet! And Lily Waterflower!"
The sound of the crowd going wild in the next room practically reverberated through their eardrums.
"Shows like the show's over" Ash remarked knowingly. Misty nodded at the boy's assessment with a slightly bitter look on her face.
"Good" she said shortly, before she allowed her expression to soften slightly, "Now follow me. I'll introduce you guys to my sisters. Oh, I don't know if I'm ready for this".
"Last chance to back out" Nolan quickly offered, but Misty merely smiled at the golden haired boy's kindness, before she firmly shook her head.
"This way" she said more insistently.
And as if to prove not only to her friends but also to herself the stance that she was taking on this somewhat delicate matter, Misty began to exit through one of the doors in the reception area, heading into a corridor that led further into the gym. Sighing at just how remarkably stubborn his female friend could be when she wanted to be, Nolan quickly followed after her with Ash and their beloved Pokemon. The orange haired girl led them into a room that led down a short flight of stairs. What they came to next practically blew Nolan away.
An aquarium.
The Cerulean City Gym... had its own, private, aquarium.
Nolan's icy blue eyes widened to almost comical proportions as he struggled to take it all in. He was vaguely aware of his mouth falling open in sheer amazement, but to be honest, he cared precious little about that right now. He was simply too awestruck by the unbelievable sight before him right now to really focus on anything else. Nolan had only ever been to an aquarium once before in his entire life. It wasn't the type of commodity that a small settlement like Pallet Town would be able to bring in enough people to warrant keeping it open after all.
The golden haired boy had been fortunate enough that his father had taken the time to take him to one of these educational and astonishing places in a distant city, when he was much younger, but it hadn't been anything even close to this. This was... this was on a different level entirely.
For starters, barely any of the surface walls were made up of bricks and mortar. Instead, reinforced glass panels made up the interior walls, allowing viewers an unhampered view of the amazing and almost alien-esque underwater landscape beyond. Much to his delight, Nolan could quite clearly see dozens of Pokemon swimming around in the crystal clear water, much like he'd been able to outside in the city's canals. They kept weaving in and out of the large artificial coral reefs that had been built into the pool to help habitat all these different creatures. And what a varied group of creatures they were. Within seconds, Nolan had already spotted several different species of Water Type Pokemon, including but not limited to Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and one lone Seel. Laughing happily at the sight, Nolan rushed over to the nearest glass panel and looked down to the base of the pool. He grinned as he saw even more different types of Pokemon down there, scuttling across the golden white sand that coated the bottom of the tank.
"Oh look!" the golden haired boy exclaimed in gleeful awe, "It's a group of Krabby, and a Kingler too!"
His friends both hurried over to join him by the viewing window, and grinned widely as they saw that he was right. Misty in particular had an enamoured gleam in her eye, the one she always got when discussing her favourite type of Pokemon.
"That Kingler is one of my sisters Pokemon" the orange haired girl explained for her friends' benefit, both of whom were gaping at the sheer size of the gigantic crustacean in astonishment, "Those Krabby are all its offspring".
"So cool!" Ash marvelled, his russet coloured eyes wide with awe. The raven haired boy then rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I wonder if your sisters will use it against one of us in our battles".
Upon hearing the comment, Misty gave him a smile that was somewhat apologetic.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up too high about that one Ash" the orange haired girl turned away from the aquarium to look him in the eye, "That Kingler is one of the Pokemon that my sisters use in their performances. They've never once used it as part of their gym leader duties".
Ash couldn't help but sigh in obvious disappointment. He had been looking forward to hopefully battling against that Kingler. It looked like it would pose quite a hard challenge, something that the raven haired trainer was always up for.
Nolan on the other hand reflected a bit more carefully upon what Misty had just revealed to them, albeit unintentionally. Not so much the part that some of the Pokemon in that tank before them were not used in battles and were exclusively for the famous dance recitals that were put on here, but more the part that Misty obviously had knowledge about which specific Pokemon were used for the battles that took place in the Cerulean City gym. The golden haired boy opened his mouth, that all important question on the tip of his tongue, but unfortunately he never got the opportunity to give voice to it. It was a pity that. That kind of information would have come in highly useful in the not-so-distant future. And the reason why he wouldn't get the chance to ask his strategic question was because several new voices were drifting down the corridor towards them, cutting Nolan off in the process without even knowing it
"The crowd was totally awesome" a light, airy female voice was saying to somebody else.
It quickly became quite obvious to Nolan and his friends that there was more than one person approaching them from around the corner, and that they were in the middle of a conversation of their own.
"I know" another woman's voice replied to the first one, sounding practically giddy with enthusiasm and passionate excitement, "That was so great!"
"Daisy" a third voice, also female and carrying the same distinct accent as the other two voices, gushed happily, "The dive you did was super!"
"The practice really paid off" the voice of the woman that had first spoken up, whom Nolan now knew to be called Daisy, replied modestly.
"Totally" the unknown second woman's voice said in agreement.
The sound of three distinctive sets of giggling soon met Nolan's ears. The golden haired boy's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into his hair underneath his beanie, they flew so far up his forehead. It was the girl at his side that had the most dramatic and pronounced reaction to the voices however. In a single instant, Misty's entire body had become almost rigid. Her already pale skin turned an even deadlier shade of white, and her vermillion coloured eyes were wide with something akin to panic. The look of unadulterated horror that was etched into her face only intensified when the group of giggling women finally rounded the corner, and came into full view of Nolan and his friends. The golden haired boy's level of surprise immediately multiplied.
The three women that were now suddenly standing before them... were incredibly beautiful.
Each of them looked uniquely different, and yet the similarities between them were also quite striking. You could definitely tell that they were related, mostly from the shapes of their facial features. The major differences were in the colours of their hair. The woman that was stood in the centre of the trio had golden blonde hair that fell in long tassels down her back. The woman standing off to the right had short pink hair, and although she was the shortest of the trio of women, she also appeared to have the leanest build out of them. Finally, the young woman standing on the left had hair that was almost a royal blue in colouring, and she carried a graceful elegance about her. Each of them wore a different coloured swimsuit, but an identical look of confusion on their face.
"Err... excuse me, but like, members of the public aren't meant to be on this level" the woman with the pink hair said almost confrontationally.
Misty stiffened up from her spot behind Nolan, although none of the three women had actually noticed her yet. But from her reaction alone Nolan was quickly able to deduce the identity of these three beautiful women.
These... were Misty's sisters.
"Yeah" the blue haired woman backed up the other young beauty, "If you're like, here for the show, I'm afraid you're like, too late. We just finished it".
"We're like, sorry, but you'll have to like, try and book tickets for our next show in like, a few weeks' time" the blonde haired sister, the one which the others had earlier referred to as Daisy, added in agreement.
Totally baffled, and honestly not sure what to make of these three women that were apparently related to one of his closest friends, despite the comparison being like chalk and cheese, Nolan shook his head incredulously and took a small step forwards.
"Em... no, sorry, but we didn't come here to watch the show" he said apologetically, hoping that that wouldn't offend them. The last thing he wanted was to upset them and give them a reason to deny accepting his battle challenge.
Thankfully however, the three women just took it on the chin.
"Oh! Well if you want an interview, you have to like, call our manager" the pink haired woman tried to fob them off, but not even coming close to the real reason for their visit.
"No" Ash was the one that shook his head this time around, "That's not it either".
The raven haired boy opened his mouth, no doubt to try and explain that both he and his best friend had only come to the Cerulean City gym in order to try and earn one of their gym badges apiece by battling them, but unsurprisingly he was cut off before he had a chance to.
"We don't do autographs" the blue haired sister waved a hand at him dismissively.
Behind the two boys who were looking hopelessly at each other, Misty scoffed and rolled her eyes out of sheer exasperation. It clearly hadn't occurred to any of her airhead sisters that if they could shut up for long enough, they might actually get the answers they were after. Still, they had yet to even notice her presence yet, and Misty preferred to keep it that way for just a little bit longer. It was for that reason that she kept her mouth firmly shut for the time being.
"Neither of us want one" Ash managed to get out, and before any of the three beautiful women could interrupt him again, the raven haired boy quickly continued, "Me and my friend here were brought to this place by another friend of ours, because we both want to challenge this gym to try and earn a badge each".
A look of realisation dawned across the faces of the three sisters, but it was quickly replaced by something else entirely. Sheer confusion.
"Other friend?" Daisy blinked, sounding puzzled.
From her spot behind the two boys, which had been obscuring her from view for the duration of this entire conversation, Misty allowed a long drawn-out sigh of pure mental exhaustion to escape from her lips. With an unparalleled level of reluctance, the orange haired girl gently brushed past her two male friends, and stepped into view for the first.
The looks on her sisters' faces immediately changed into an expression that Misty didn't like. Not. One. Bit.
"Well, well!" the pink haired sister's face curled into an incredibly sly grin, one which sent a shiver down Misty's spine that she had to work very hard to suppress, "This certainly is a surprise, although I'm not sure it's a pleasant one. Hello Misty".
Misty swallowed hard, and cast her eyes downwards anxiously.
"Hey Lily. Hi Violet. Hi Daisy" she addressed each of her older sisters in turn, grimacing at the way that they were all practically leering back at her, like three hungry Pidgey which had cornered a Caterpie, "How's it going?"
The three older girls just smirked widely down their noses at her.
"Oh, no, no, no!" the blue haired woman, whom Misty had referred to as Violet, shook her head in obvious amusement, "Don't try acting all casual with us! We haven't forgotten everything you said when you left here, you know!"
"Huh?" Misty seemed to be struggling to remember what her older sister was referring to.
Violet's smile just widened, not nastily per say, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either.
"Oh, you know!" the blue haired woman drawled sarcastically, clearly relishing in the chance to tease her little sister, "You, being that little girl with a big mouth who said she wouldn't come back here until she was a great Pokemon trainer. Wasn't that you, because I'm pretty sure it was!"
Misty swallowed hard at her sister's gleeful teasing, whilst Nolan and Ash both stood hopelessly at her side. They weren't sure if they ought to intercede or not. Neither of them had any siblings after all. They just didn't know what the protocol was in this type of situation.
"I... I guess I did say something like that when I left" Misty admitted, blushing the shade of a ripe tomato.
"But despite what you said little sister, we all knew the real reason you left" the pink haired sister, Lily, happily joined in on the teasing, "You only pretended that you wanted to become a Pokemon trainer because you knew that you'd never be able to compare with us. Because we're obviously much more talented and beautiful than you are!"
"Ouch!" Nolan whispered under his breath. He could practically feel the sting of that remark himself, and it hadn't even been aimed at him. It was no wonder that Misty looked so flustered and angry in that moment.
"That wasn't the reason!" the orange haired girl yelled furiously.
It seemed that the more Misty got worked up over their words, the more her sisters seemed to relish in their teasing. It wasn't long until Daisy, who up until this point had yet to say anything to her younger sister, joined in with the others.
"Well then I guess like, you came back because you couldn't make it as a Pokemon trainer" the blonde haired woman sighed in an overly dramatic fashion, one which was no doubt designed just to wind her little sister up even further.
Nolan couldn't help but frown the longer this whole display went on for. He was beginning to understand why Misty had been so reluctant to come back here. If the teasing was as bad as this all the time, it only made sense why the girl longed to be free of it. Because as innocent as their intentions may or may not be, Nolan honesty couldn't tell if this was the three older sisters idea of playful banter, or just outright bullying. Either way, he didn't much care for seeing his friend being treated this way.
"Err, actually..." he chimed into the conversation, hoping to take some of the pressure off Misty, "It wasn't her idea to come here. Misty only came with us because she's a really good friend, and me and Ash wanted to come challenge you to a battle".
The golden haired boy had only spoken up on his friend's behalf with the purest of intentions. Little did he know however, that Misty's sisters were master manipulators when it came to making a conversation go their way.
"Aww! That's so cute!" Violet cooed in delight, though with a sarcastic undertone, "Misty's got herself a boyfriend! One that's sweet enough to try and defend her honour!"
The three older woman all giggled and cooed happily.
Nolan immediately slapped a hand against his forehead at how badly that had backfired. What on Earth had he been thinking?! He had grown up with Gary Oak for crying out loud! He should have known that that was exactly the type of response that speaking up for his friend, his female friend, would get. He quickly threw Misty a look that was thoroughly apologetic, but she just gave him a strained smile back. She appreciated the attempt after all, but she also knew that he had just made things a hundred times worse.
"Nolan is not my boyfriend!" Misty exclaimed, her eyes flashing dangerously, "He's a boy and he's a friend, but he's not a boyfriend!"
"Ah!" Daisy said knowingly, and her eyes flickered over to Ash, who swallowed nervously, "So I take it that this boy is your boyfriend then!"
Ash blushed a fierce shade of crimson, whilst Misty just looked mortified, not at the insinuation, but more at her sisters' embarrassing behaviour.
"No!" the orange haired girl protested, "It's not like that! It's not!"
Satisfied that they had teased their little sister enough for the moment, Daisy, being the oldest of The Sensational Sisters, decided it was time to intervene.
"Okay girls, that's enough for now" her smile became much less teasing and much more genuine, and thankfully, Violet and Lily both followed suit, "I'm sure that these fine young gentlemen friends of Misty's haven't come here to watch us cut her down to size".
Nolan still wasn't happy about how the three older sisters had been treating Misty, but ultimately decided that it wasn't really his place to get involved or say anything. Misty's issues with her sisters were a private family affair, and not the sort of thing he should be sticking his nose into. Also, he didn't think that Misty would appreciate it if he ended up making her teasing even worse again. So despite his loyal inner nature which was screaming at him to continue defending his friend, the golden haired boy let the matter rest, and instead got back down to business.
"No, we haven't" he said, his tone a little cooler than normal. Just because he wasn't going to say anything directly didn't mean he couldn't let his disapproval be known in other ways after all.
"Like we said before, we came here to battle you three" Ash backed him up, feeling the same way as Nolan did about their mistreatment of Misty.
If any of the Sensational Sisters had picked up on their slightly cold demeanours, none of them commented on it. Instead, all three of the beautiful women just smirked down at the two boys.
"Okay" Daisy nodded, suddenly becoming serious in the face of her gym leader duties, "Which one of you is like, going to battle us first?"
"I am" Nolan took a step closer, his eyes practically on fire with steely determination, "I challenge all three of you!"
The three Sensational Sisters all just smiled at him.
"Follow us" Daisy commanded, totally unfazed by the challenge that he had just issued against them. Without so much as a backwards glance, the three Sensational Sisters all silently turned in almost perfect synchronisation, and began to walk away, back up the corridor in the direction that they had originally come from. Nolan swallowed hard, but didn't hesitate to follow them. His next big gym battle was finally upon him.
And Nolan was going to give it his all.
And there's another chapter done : )
This chapter was mostly just to focus on Misty for a while, since I like to give her and Brock just as much attention as I give Nolan and Ash : ) The next couple of chapters are what I'm really looking forward to posting though, but I think that's enough about the content of this chapter for the time being. Instead, let's just move straight on in to this week's voting topic, and I have to say, I think the results of this one might be quite curious as well : ) We're doing another encounter vote this time, and the options are as follows: -
Pokemon Options: -
Grapefruit Islands: - Exeggcute - Male - Bashful Nature - Chlorophyll Ability
Butwal Island: - Weepinbell - Male - Mild Nature - Chlorophyll Ability
Trovita Island: - Goldeen - Female - Relaxed Nature - Water Veil Ability
Trovitopolis: - Grimer - Male - Rash Nature - Stench Ability
Deserted Island: - Farfetch'd - Male - Hasty Nature - Keen Eye Ability
Just on a side note, there isn't actually a location called 'Deserted Island' in the game. There is just a large island on one of the routes which is unnamed for some reason - perhaps a mistake by the game's creator, or perhaps because in the anime a name isn't given for that specific location, I don't know - but I needed something to call it, so 'Deserted Island' it was. Either way, please go leave your vote for Nolan's next Pokemon in a review : )
And I think that's just about everything from me for this time, so thank you so much for reading this chapter and my story in general. I hope you are enjoying it all so far, and please consider leaving a review because I'd love to hear your comments and feedback : )
Until the next time, keep on reading : )
