Let's get ready to rumble~!
Misty had struggled to sleep the previous night. Although it was more trouble falling asleep than staying asleep. She hadn't checked the time, but it felt like she'd tossed and turned in bed for hours, struggling to keep her eyes shut.
Whatever time she finally passed out, she was still up at nine the next morning, with two hours to spare before the battle.
Lily was the best cook out of all of them, even with Misty's recent increase in skill. She put together a full breakfast. There was more well-wishing and good luck, but Misty was still on edge.
Her team was ready and she was ready, or at least as ready as they could be. She paced the tile floor of the gym waiting for eleven o'clock.
They'd be using the biggest pool for the battle. It had already been refilled and prepped the night before. It had the same pieces of flotsam and cement columns the other battle arena pools contained, but it dwarfed them in size.
Everyone else was there too but she wasn't feeling up to a conversation right now. The clock mocked her with its constant ticking.
One hour left, half an hour, fifteen minutes, ten, five.
The urge to run struck her a few times. Just run away, hide under her bed, and ignore the world for a bit. It was a silly fight-or-flight desire that she beat down with a stick. As tempting as it sounded, running from her problems would not solve them.
With two minutes left Joy arrived.
Deep breaths.
"You're the youngest sister then?" This Joy sounded different than the normal Nurses at the Pokemon Centers. There was a harshness to the voice that she wasn't used to. She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm told you're the strongest."
Misty swallowed. "That's right, I am."
"Then why weren't you managing the gym?" The question came unexpectedly, but it was a fair one.
"Because I'm only one of four Gym Leaders, all the responsibility for it shouldn't be on me. My sisters should have been able to keep a handle on things while I was traveling. Besides, I've become a lot stronger while traveling." It was a brief explanation but hopefully acceptable.
"I can't say I've been impressed with what I've seen so far." Joy brushed her off. "The sheer lack of discipline displayed by your sisters is unacceptable. We'll see how you compare."
"Bring it on." The Gym Leader's resolve hardened, time to see it through.
They took their places on either end of the largest pool. "Can you go over the rules? I think I understand but everything I've heard is secondhand."
"It's simple enough." Joy shrugged. "I'll follow the rule of the gym for staying within the boundaries of the pool, above or below it. You may use as many of your own team as you like up to six, with no gym Pokemon or loaners from other trainers. If you knock out my Pokemon you are the winner, if not, you lose and both your Gym Leader position and the Gym Registration will be forfeited."
She nodded. "Sounds about right, just making sure."
"Choose your Pokemon, I'm sure you already know mine though." Joy sent out her Pokemon.
From a burst of light emerged a sleek red and white Pokemon. A loud "Eeeeee!" filled the air as she emerged. This was Latias of course, she had a sleek coat and bright eyes that blinked a few times in the light before she did a quick lap around the pool.
Too quick actually, quicker than Misty expected, and if that was just a leisurely stretch…
A squeal from the sidelines quickly carved away her concerns. Everyone turned to the source to see Ash staring at Latias with stars in his eyes. "So cool! You look amazing! I've only seen pictures! Is that fur or feathers? Do your wings move or are they static? And are those horns or ears?"
Latias was not expecting the sudden barrage and floated back a bit, looking a little bashful. "Eeeoo?" She seemed to ask, glancing at her trainer and Ash's Pokemon.
"Um, I can see you're enthusiastic young man…" Joy didn't seem to know how to respond to Ash.
"That's Ash, he gets excited when he meets new Pokemon, especially one he's never seen before," Karen explained a bit, pulling Ash back. "Which doesn't happen too often now that I think about it…"
"If you're interested we can talk after the battle." Joy shrugged and refocused her attention on Misty. Her friend muttered something else and crossed his arms. Knowing him it could have been anything from, 'But I wanted to talk to Latias' to 'But I won't be able to since you'll be at the Pokemon Center when Misty wins!'
Misty preferred to imagine it was the latter.
"You're up first." She muttered and sent out her first Pokemon.
Squirtle landed on one of the pieces of flotsam dotted throughout the pool. He looked up at his opponent. "You don't look so tough!"
He heard familiar sounds from the edge of the pool and grinned. His squad was there cheering for him! He waved at them, pleased to see them in person, and eager to show off. With all the work he put in, he wouldn't go down easy.
"To be honest, I can't say you look tough either." His opponent, Latias, responded. "But appearances aren't everything."
He glanced at Ash, the regular expert on deceptive appearances, and back to Latias. "Was that a joke?" He scratched his head.
"No why would it be?"
"Battlers ready?" A voice, one of Misty's sisters, the blue-haired one shouted from the side. Both Pokemon tensed. "Begin!"
"Ice Beam!" Misty's shout prompted Squirtle to unleash the colder of his two newest moves. But Latias was already moving. Joy hadn't even called for an attack yet.
Not one to let up easily, Squirtle decided to experiment a bit. He cut the beam and prepared a second one, but this time he spun, landing on the flotsam and letting his shell act like a top. The beam spun around the room, and he got a satisfying cry of pain from his opponent for his efforts.
He didn't have much time to celebrate though, almost immediately Latias attacked. "Thunderbolt!"
"Nope!" Squirtle used Harden and sucked his limbs and head into his shell. He felt the shake and a twinge of pain from the electric-type attack, but it could have been worse.
"Work Up and Water Pulse Squirtle!" Misty replied, "Don't let up the attack for long!"
"Easier said than done." He muttered but followed through. Not much luck though, Latias was too fast and easily avoided the Water Pulse and the resulting explosion of water.
"Dive!" Joy called and Latias vanished under the water. Squirtle growled and dived down under after her, knowing he would be on his own, but unwilling to stay a sitting duck on the surface.
Squirtle knew he wasn't the fastest swimmer, but he hadn't realized that Latias barely lost any of her speed below the water. He saw a shape zipping around the pool. The battle had barely even begun and it already felt like he was on the back foot despite getting more moves off.
Then the pool started to shake. Squirtle was confused at first until he realized that the floor was dropping away and the water was flowing up. He vaguely recalled Starmie lifting water with Psychic, but those were globes of water, this was the entire pool!
Then he felt pain!
The entire body of water was filled with electricity, was it Thunderbolt again? This time targeting the water itself?
He didn't have time to think about it, all he knew is he wanted to get out of it!
With a blast of Water Gun propelling him, he shot toward a shape below the floating water. Hoping he was on target he exploded from the painful bath and back into the open air.
"Hey!" Latias yelped as he landed on her back. "Get off!"
"Nope!" Now that he had a stable target, he went crazy with attacks.
Bite, Tackle, Rapid Spin, all physical attack, and all close range. Bite seemed to be the most effective but he was having trouble using it in quick succession, so he mixed it up a bit.
"Get him off of you!" Joy ordered even as Misty cheered for him to keep it up.
As Squirtle tried another Bite he felt a solid wall of force stop him, it was like he hit a tough piece of rubber or something.
He barely had time to realize that he must have hit Protect or a similar move when the water from the pool came crashing down on top of both him and Latias.
It was chaotic for a few moments but he managed to get his bearings back.
Squirtle paddled back up to the surface and looked around, trying to spot his opponent. Something shimmered in the air and he blinked, was that water dripping off of nothing?
Suddenly his instincts screamed at him to protect himself and he used Harden again, ducking into his shell just as a heavy impact crashed into him at incredible speed. He felt himself skip across the surface of the water and into the side of the pool, but not out of it, yet at least.
He pulled himself up out of the water and onto a pillar that stood in the water. He huffed a bit but met Latias's gaze, "Illusions?" He checked, using the best frame of reference he had for why he couldn't see her.
The other Pokemon seemed confused at his deduction. "Technically? I can refract light to either vanish or change my appearance, how did you know?"
"Lucky guess." Squirtle fired off Ice Beam as the last syllable left his mouth.
Latias rolled around the beam and fired an attack of her own. Squirtle had about a second to comprehend the wave of weird-looking purple that came at him before it impacted and he knew no more.
"Squirtle has been defeated." Violet did her job as referee dutifully, "Challenger send out your next Pokemon!"
Misty returned Squirtle and thought. He had managed a lot of hits but Latias didn't seem any worse for the wear. She wasn't out yet though, next up, Goldeen.
Goldeen was grateful for the opportunity to actually participate. She swam for a moment, enjoying the familiar pool before coming to the surface to see her opponent face-to-face.
"You have a nice color scheme." She appreciated the dragon-type's appearance.
"Oh, thank you." Latias smiled, "We have to fight now though."
"I'm aware." Goldeen dived back down. She knew what move to open with, Misty had discussed it with her before.
"Begin!"
Goldeen beat her fins as hard as she could and shot straight up out of the water. Latias hadn't been expecting such a direct attack and tried to move back and up, but didn't go quite far enough to avoid Goldeen's assault.
The timing had to be perfect and Goldeen had practiced this particular combination multiple times the previous day. First, she used Horn Attack on Latias, a direct hit!
Next, she concentrated and pulled on the water that remained from her explosive launch. It wrapped around her in three distinct rings, Aqua Ring. She was pleased she managed that, it had been the difficult part. Now the last.
Goldeen blew and a chill filled the air. Latias, now recovered from the horn to the gut, shivered as tiny bits of ice began to pelt both the Pokemon and the pool.
"Sorry for the chill, but I can't afford to go easy." Goldeen apologized to her opponent and used Ice Beam.
Latias shot forward diving under the water and out of the hail. But this worked in Goldeen's favor. Aqua Ring would keep her above the surface for a minute, bouncing her gently over the water. It would also keep the Hail from hurting her too much, and give her time to prepare.
"Good work Goldeen!" Misty was on the same page. "Agility and Double Team!"
The speed-based moves came into focus and Goldeen felt incredible. This more than made up for all the time she'd had to stay in the ball on the trip. It felt like every movement was sped up while everyone else was in slow motion.
Her opponent chose now to reveal herself and swung at one of the Double Team duplicates. Purple claws, Dragon Claw, carved through empty air as it proved to be a fake. Goldeen shot forward, covering thirty feet in a second, and hit her opponent with another Horn Attack.
Off to the side, she heard Pidgeotto coughing. No doubt the flying-type was impressed with her blitzing speed.
Goldeen skimmed the surface away from the dragon-type, fading back into the Double Team disguise. She still had some time on Aqua Ring before it faded.
"Use Surf Latias! Wash away the Double Team!" Joy called to her Pokemon.
Ah, that could be a problem.
The wave of water rushed over Goldeen, disrupting her Aqua Ring and trapping her under the water again. But she still had her speed and shot toward Latias, ready for a second go.
But Latias had learned the trick now, she joined Goldeen under the water and her forehead started to glow.
If that was how her opponent wanted to play it fine, Goldeen prepared herself for Horn Attack again and the two collided into each other under the water. The shockwaves sent waves crashing over the rim of the pool but the water below was deceptively calm once the initial clash stopped.
Goldeen pulled away from her opponent and weighed her options. She could probably get back out of the water again without worrying about landing a hit or using Hail she could focus on Aqua Ring. But Latias could probably put her back under with Surf. It was a bit of a catch-22 situation.
She didn't have long to consider though. As fast as she was right now, Latias hadn't become any slower.
The other Pokemon was right on top of her and shot down in a blur of speed, Aeriel Ace. Goldeen barely managed to recover and didn't have much chance before a second attack would hit.
Knowing that she was about to be out of the battle she turned and faced her defeat head-on and got one last Horn Attack in, scratching Latias along her neck as she was knocked out.
Violet announced Goldeen's defeat and the goldfish Pokemon was returned to her ball.
That was two Pokemon down now. Misty was beginning to feel the pressure. But hope wasn't lost quite yet. The Hail was still falling, just as she had been planning. She wasn't sure how long she had though so she need to get the next round going as soon as possible.
"Like we planned Starmie," Misty murmured, sending out her third choice.
Latias poked her head out of the water to inspect her next opponent on one of the pillars. Starmie met her gaze and felt a little sorry about what she would have to do next.
"This is going to be rough." She warned the other Pokemon.
"I'm not a fan of ice," Latias complained, wincing as the frozen stones battered her.
"No, I imagine you wouldn't be." Starmie accepted.
Violet called for the battle to resume and Starmie went to work.
Her opponent had ducked back under the water as soon as the word had left Violet's mouth. But Starmie wasn't just a water type.
Globes of water emerged from the pool, draining it bit by bit. Starmie's Psychic took each ball and hurled it out of the pool. Latias had vanished again, but eventually, she would be out of places to hide.
One of the bubbles exploded in a shower of sparkling water. Combined with the hail it made for an interesting effect. But Starmie did not have time to appreciate it.
"Blizzard!" Misty gave the command and Starmie unleash the attack.
It was normally fairly difficult to aim and produce a small localized high-powered snowstorm at an opponent. But the hail drastically reduced the effort that need to go into it. The entire arena was blasted with the freezing gale.
This was the move Starmie had been working on. It was a combined effort. Starmie and Staryu worked on Blizzard while Goldeen worked on Hail. Knowing both moves would have been best but they didn't have time for that. So they divided and conquered.
Latias was a lot stronger and faster than Starmie, or any of Misty's other Pokemon. But she wasn't invincible. Especially when faced with a move like Blizzard that was both powerful and super effective.
Unfortunately, things were never that easy.
"Recover Latias! Use Sunny Day!"
As her opponent began to glow, Starmie fired off another Blizzard, hoping to deal more damage and make Recover more draining.
It was a risk to use Recover in a battle, but it was a coin toss that the trainer normally decided to make when things were looking bad. The move healed the injuries of the Pokemon, yes, but it was draining the body's stamina. Some Pokemon could manage it a few times in a single fight, but it was easy to become exhausted from over-usage.
That said, its very nature meant it could undo many injuries sustained by the user, and put them back in the fight, as long as it didn't exhaust them.
Starmie prepared to try one more Blizzard but felt the move struggle sluggishly to get going as the light in the room grew brighter and harsher.
That… was very bad.
Still, she wasn't done yet, not by a long shot.
Latias managed to avoid the severely weakened Blizzard but Starmie was already working on her next trick, Light Screen.
The barrier formed just in the nick of time as Latias glowed and a bright beam that resembled a ray of sunline crashed into Starmie's protective measure. This gave her just enough time to move out of the way before the weakened Solar Beam carved off the top of her column.
Starmie used Rapid Spin to quickly move through the remaining water, it had dropped several feet from her actions but there was still enough to swim in. Water-type moves were at a double disadvantage as long as the Sunny Day was in effect, Psychic-type moves would be resisted, what did that leave her with?
Confuse Ray and then fire as many Ice Beams as possible then.
She exploded from the water and used the move, shining lights surrounding Latias and sinking into her head. The other Pokemon wobbled in the air unsteadily, was the flying a conscious effort? Probably.
Ice Beam quickly followed and her opponent was in no state to dodge allowing for a direct hit. Starmie managed to get off another as the opposing trainer worked out a strategy on the fly.
"Latias focus up! Use Calm Mind to help fight through the confusion! Then give me a Solar Beam barrage!"
Starmie managed a few more Ice Beams as Calm Mind took effect and Latias's eyes shot open, the clouds of confusion replaced by electric clarity.
The next Ice Beam didn't even come close as Latias shot forward and knocked Starmie back down with Zen Headbutt. Then she took to the air and glowed.
Solar Beam, blasted into the pool, the first one hit and Starmie was hard-pressed to avoid the rest. Rapid Spin was beginning to tire her out and the damage she'd just taken was slowing her down a lot.
Eventually one of Latias's attacks hit home and Starmie was out of the battle too.
Violet shot Misty a worried look as she announced Starmie's defeat and it certainly wasn't helping her feel better about this.
She had really been hoping Starmie would be able to finish this with Blizzard. But Recover… that was a huge hurdle to overcome. Latias was clearly a strong Pokemon, but the Blizzards on top of all the damage she'd already taken had been taking its toll. Misty had seen her starting to falter a few times near the end of her fight with Goldeen.
Two Pokemon left, Staryu she was saving for last, which meant it was time to give Psyduck a shot.
It was a questionable choice. They made a rather alarming discovery yesterday while training. She felt a little bad sending Psyduck in for this fight but he was part of the team too. Not to mention if he managed that again…
Well, she would have preferred a more definitive victory, but knocking Latias out of bounds was good too.
"Good luck Psyduck!" She called as sent aimed for one of the flotsam with his Pokeball. "Do your best!"
The duck Pokemon staggered and struggled to maintain his balance when he emerged but he managed to stay on. By falling back onto it and lying there.
Joy and Latias both stared at the water-type and shared a look. "Are you, sure this is your next choice?" Joy checked, she didn't sound quite so dismissive now, Misty took that as a good sign.
"Psyduck trained for this too!" Misty asserted and hoped he'd be able to accomplish a few things.
"Alright…" Her opponent still seemed doubtful.
Violet looked back and forth to make sure they were ready to go. "Match start!"
"Use Water Gun!" Misty directed Psyduck, she watched him flop over and gulp down some water.
Misty had learned a few things while training Psyduck. That the more active he was the more his head hurt. Over time the headache got worse and worse until it became too much for him.
She'd done her best to explain her plan to him yesterday. He seemed to understand at the time, and Staryu confirmed it for her. Apparently, he felt better after he had, well, exploded.
After a moment, during which Latias seemed confused and unsure how to react, Psyduck pulled himself up and fired Water Gun directly at the other Pokemon.
The attack, weakened by the lingering effects of Sunny Day, barely managed to hit Latias. But it seemed to boost Psyduck's confidence, and his headache if the way he both puffed out his chest and clutched his head was anything to go by.
"Alright, Latias, just… just use Confusion and take him out of the fight," Joy ordered.
That was not quite what Misty had been expecting but it worked perfectly. A part of her wondered why Joy would choose that move. Maybe because she didn't think Psyduck could take a stronger hit and just wanted him out. Maybe she knew Psyducks got headaches and just wanted to incapacitate him.
Whatever the reasoning, the result stayed the same.
Psyduck's head glowed and he collapsed as though physically struck. He groaned and then lay still for a moment.
Misty braced herself and covered her ears.
"PSY!"
The entire gym shook as a Psychic shockwave surged out of Psyduck. It had been a rather terrifying surprise when it had happened yesterday during training, but they'd immediately realized how useful it could be if it happened in a fight.
Her concern had been whether or not Psyduck would have been able to get to that point before being knocked out. She had been planning on trying to have him use Taunt to force more combat, but Latias really helped things along with Confusion.
Off to the side, the spectators were knocked over by the blast. Violet, being closest was knocked clean off her feet, the others stumbled or clutched their heads.
There was a bit of commotion from Ash and Misty winced when she realized his illusion had probably burst, but no one was focusing on him so he would probably be able to put it back up without being noticed.
Latias got the worst of it.
Hope spiked in Misty as the dragon-type flew backward without control, for a brief, perfect moment, it seemed like she was going to be blown clear out of the boundaries of the pool.
Her hopes were cruelly dashed.
Right before she flew out of bounds, Latias glowed and a shimmering wall formed behind her, down to the edge of the pool. She collided with the Reflect barrier with a painful thud, but it kept her from going out of bounds.
Joy recovered from the unexpected blast and immediately changed tactics with Psyduck. "Quick! Use Psychic to get him out of the pool! Don't let him do that again!"
Psyduck, now with a much-reduced headache, was hardly stationary. He'd gulped down more water and was firing more Water Guns, now with stronger pressure behind them.
His opponent righted herself and shot forward, away from the edge of the arena. She took a few hits from Water Gun and then her eyes glowed. A matching shade surrounded Psyduck and the water-type was lifted from his podium and thrown out of the pool.
He landed on his butt next to Misty. She sighed and knelt down. "That was amazing Psyduck, I'm proud of you." She rubbed his head gingerly.
"Psyyyy." He replied in a daze as she returned him.
"Psyduck has been knocked out of bounds!" Violet called a bit late, she'd been recovering her footing and composure. "Choose your… last Pokemon." Her sister forced the words out.
Technically, she could have more, a full team of six. But she didn't, Violet knew that, and Misty was kicking herself for not more diligently searching out more team members. Now wasn't the time for that though.
Misty took a moment to take stock of the situation and clear her head. Latias had taken plenty of hits, she may have used Recover but that would have been draining on her stamina and Starmie and Psyduck had done plenty of damage after.
The pool's level was still pretty low, no new water had been added after all. Above, the Sunny Day was finally beginning to falter.
She swallowed, down to the wire. "All yours Staryu. Time to slay the dragon." She muttered to his Pokeball and released him.
Staryu knew that some of the other Pokemon thought he was silly.
He knew that he hammed it up a bit too much sometimes, and everyone teased him for it. Pikachu loved to poke holes in some of his speeches. But in the end, he didn't care what they thought of him for it.
Maybe it was silly to talk like a knight or hero of legends. Maybe if a human child was doing it the behavior would have been curbed both by the adults in their life and peer pressure from other kids.
But he was no human child.
"Behold accursed dragon of the west!" Staryu declared as he entered the battlefield. "For I am Staryu, first chosen warrior of Lady Misty Waterflower, greatest of gym leaders and water trainers; ruler of the Cerulean City Gym! I have come now at the darkest hour to see that you at last fall for all the crimes you have committed against me and mine. What say you in your defense?!"
Latias stared at the arm pointed at her and seemed unsure of what to say. "Uhhh…"
"Uhhh?" Staryu repeated. "A disappointing choice for final words! But alas, it is not my duty to choose for you! Take them to your grave villain!"
"Start!" Violet's voice cut the air like a blade.
"Water Pulse! Refill the pool!" Misty's shout sounded and he immediately followed through, taking the extra measure to fire the attack so it would explode under Latias and possibly do some damage.
"Hide! Don't let him start using Ice Beam!" Joy responded.
Ice Beam? Foolish! Of course, that's what they would expect!
Well, it was a good move in this case but still, they shouldn't always be so quick to jump to the obvious.
"Set up!" Misty ordered and he got to work.
Harden. Light Screen. Reflect. Defensive measures, this fight was going to be rough and he needed to last as long as possible.
Something hit the Light Screen behind him and he felt the familiar sting of electricity. Right, this one knew electric-type attacks. Unfortunate.
Still, now he knew where she was.
The water surged under him as he used Surf to wash away the water behind him. He heard a squeak of pain from his opponent and saw a gap in the water where her invisible form surfaced.
Now it was time to use Ice Beam, his attack hit its mark and he saw ice crystals take shape as the water froze on the dragon's hide.
She emerged from the water but he could still see the hanging shards. Time to test out the secret technique.
His gem glowed and the air in front of him sparkled and dazzling light. Or specifically, a Dazzling Gleam that burst toward Latias like a spotlight. She cried and finally reappeared, likely forced to stop concentrating because of the pain.
Staryu pushed his assault, using Ice Beam again, but Latias was still just as quick. The moment she recovered from the initial shock of the fairy-type move she was darting around the pool again, taking shots with electric-type moves whenever she stopped for more than a second.
It made aiming rather frustrating.
Latias paused for a few extra seconds and sensing danger, Staryu used Protect just in time to block the power of a Thunder attack. As the sparks danced across the surface of his barrier he considered how much more that would have hurt than the times he'd been hit with Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
He'd rather not find out what it felt like today.
"Swift! Confuse Ray!" Misty cried as soon as the Thunder faded away.
The stars from the homing attack and the lights of Confuse Ray came together in a beautiful display of color and violence. Swift helped guide the ray to its target and Latias spiraled out of control and back down into the water.
He heard Joy call for her to use Calm Mind but he was already attacking again. This time, preparing a Blizzard.
His foe recovered just in time for the cold to wash over her. She faltered and Staryu smelled the blood in the water. Or air. Whatever, they were in a swimming pool.
Ice Beam coursed through him and collided with a beam of similar proportions but swathed in purple. A small sphere of blue and violet light formed at their collision point and exploded. Large waves lapped the edges of the pool.
They faced each other for a moment after the explosion, both sides a bit dazzled by the unexpected light show.
Then a cry came from both ends of the pool, "Psychic!"
Water exploded in force around them, drowning out both sound and sight as foam and spray filled the air. Staryu couldn't get a grip on Latias with Psychic no matter how he tried so instead he focused on using the water to create a river of force to push her out.
He was unclear what she was doing but as the sound and fury began to fade the pool was little more than a thin layer of water on a cement floor. The rest of the gym was absolutely soaked and some of the light fixtures above were hanging uselessly, their bulbs ruined.
"Thunderbolt and Thunder! Shockwave! Finish him off Latias!" Joy called.
"Rapid Spin! Break the columns! Use them as ammunition!"
Staryu barely avoided the lightning as he carved through the cement foundations of the pillars, breaking them loose. With Psychic he hurled them at Latias, sending beams of solid stone hurtling dangerously through the air.
Latias stopped for a moment and blazed like a second, electrical star. Staryu savored this brief moment for a better chance to aim his column and hurled it at her.
Pain filled him as Shockwave filled the empty pool bowl and he collapsed to the ground. To his satisfaction, he heard a crunch and a scream of anguish as his final projectile hit its mark.
He tried to push himself up, his vision fading in and out of focus as his gem flashed. He saw Latias, sprawled and twitching on the other side of the pool. Painful sparks afflicted both of them from the static still trapped in the water by Shockwave and the other electric attacks.
Staryu forced his limbs to move. Come on, almost there. He could… he could… rest… NO!
One of his arms spasmed awkwardly and he slid back down to the water. He couldn't make it move again. Paralysis or just exhaustion? He managed to awkwardly move himself at an angle and put Latias back in view. His sight became foggier and foggier, the brief spouts of clarity lasting for less and less time.
His arm gave out and the last thing he saw was Latias pushing her head up, and jerkily floating back into the air, as darkness took him.
What happened next was a daze for Misty. She was there of course but she wasn't really processing what had happened.
It was more like she was going through the motions than anything else.
Joy was declared the victor by an emotionally muted Violet. That was the only thing Misty noticed from any of the others. It felt like ocean sounds were filling her ears, or was that white noise? Everything else kind of just faded away.
Latias was returned and Joy said a few words to her. She was barely paying attention though, something about coming by the house to finalize the gym closing.
In what was either a few hours or a few minutes Misty brought her Pokemon to the Center and then returned home. She hadn't said anything since the end of the battle, she didn't know what to say.
Then Daisy said something.
"I guess we just weren't good enough."
It might have been the tone she said it in. It might have been the implication that Misty was on the same level as her sisters. It might have just been she needed a reason to let go and Daisy happened to provide a convenient and arguably deserving target.
The dam burst, and Misty started screaming.
"SHUT UP!" A simple demand that made the others jump. Ash looked very alarmed and Karen took a few steps back. Violet and Lily pressed their lips closed and shared a frightened look.
Daisy seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst. "What? All I said wa-"
"What?!" Misty was still shouting "We weren't good enough? What about you? YOU!" She slammed her hands on the table.
"I WORKED SO HARD!" She hollered. "I tried so hard! I thought this gym was supposed to be important! I thought it meant something! I thought Dad had enough faith in us to hold it together!" She started laughing, it seemed so silly now.
"I guess that's the joke! We weren't good enough! None of us! But you should have been! You're the oldest! You're all older than me!" Her gaze momentarily switched to Violet and Lily. "Why do I have to be the responsible one? Why is it down to me? Why is it my fault?"
"Misty no one said-" Lily tried starting but was cut off.
"But you were thinking it weren't you!" She accused. "That's what you were all thinking! Misty will come in and fix things and then it'll all go back to normal! She can do the hard part and we'll sit back and enjoy! Let's make fun of her for her looks, her lack of friends, and her age! It'll be funny!"
"And I couldn't!" Tears were rolling down her cheeks, angry or miserable she couldn't tell and didn't care to figure it out. "I couldn't do it! So I guess I am just a failure too! What a funny joke! I bet Dad would think it was so funny now! All of us, 'The Sensational Failures and the Runty Failure!' it'll be a sold-out show."
"Stop bringing Dad up!" Daisy shouted back when Misty stopped to breathe.
"Stop being such a stupid… pig-headed, vain, and… pathetic excuse for a Gym Leader!" If the floodgates could open any further they would have. "You want me to fix things? Why can't you!? You're the oldest! You were the first of us to become a Gym Leader! You should have been the best! YOU SHOULD HAVE FIXED THIS!"
She lunged over the table for her oldest sister, tears blurring her vision but a desire to hurt her filled her. She felt two sets of arms grab her and hold her back. Ash and Violet pulled her back down but she struggled against them.
"I HATE YOU!" She cried. "I HATE YOU! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you…" She kept repeating as she broke down into sobs. All her strength was gone, and all she had left was that hideous feeling letting her know how much of a failure she was.
Eventually, the last of her energy gave out and she stopped struggling and just collapsed, Ash and Violet held her up and helped her back to her feet. "Come on, let's go upstairs."
No words came to her as they half led, half carried her to her room, and lay her down in bed. As soon as she touched down and grabbed the nearest pillow and started wailing into it.
This wasn't how it was supposed to have gone. She was supposed to win. She would have proved she was better than her sisters, proved she could handle it, proved she could fix her stupid screw-up.
Why did she have to call the league on Sabrina? She should have just shut up and let someone else handle it. Then none of this would have happened. She would still be traveling around with Ash and Karen, bickering and having fun and exploring the region and the gym would be fine and normal and not gone forever.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" She called herself, voice muffled by her pillow.
Before long, her consciousness faded, and she finally dropped into the blissful freedom of oblivious sleep.
Ash didn't want to leave Misty alone, but once her breath steadied and the sobs stopped, it was clear she was asleep. That probably would do her some good, but he wasn't sure how much better she'd feel when she woke up.
Violet quietly shut the door and slowly knocked her head against it. "She's right. We should have been able to handle this."
It was spoken in a whisper. Ash didn't know how to respond. Because he agreed with her, Misty was the youngest, and Violet was around Karen's age, maybe a little bit younger. Karen was probably the best trainer out of the three of them, and while he wasn't sure he would bet that she could have defeated Latias.
Of course, he also really thought Misty was going to win too, so maybe he wasn't as good a judge as he thought.
He honestly thought that Misty's older sisters should have been better at their jobs. Joy had told Misty that she'd given the best fight out of them. Although Misty hadn't reacted Ash was glad she'd impressed the inspector.
But it still spoke volumes that her sisters had needed Misty to come and save them in the first place.
Speaking of Joy, she said she would stop by 'later' today. Whatever that meant. It was funny, he didn't much feel like taking a closer look at Latias anymore. The end of the battle had killed his enthusiasm.
Latias was still a pretty cool Pokemon, he just couldn't manage to bring out his excitement right now.
They went back downstairs, Daisy had sat down and was staring ahead blankly. Lily had turned on the stove and started cooking, possibly to help calm her nerves. Karen had taken a place on the couch and seemed to be deep in thought.
"Is it okay if I take my Pokemon to the backyard for a bit?" Ash wanted some privacy to talk with his team. It may not have been his loss but he still felt it and wanted to talk to someone. Misty probably should talk to someone too whenever she wakes up, her team would be best.
Everyone had been spectating the match. It really had been incredible. Latias was an impressive Pokemon, strong, fast, and tough. From what he'd seen it looked like she would have been able to beat both Nidoking and Nidoqueen with only a little trouble.
"I thought she was going to win when Starmie started using Blizzard," Sunny admitted. Ash and his team sat in a circle on the ground, Ash still disguised in case someone saw them.
"There were so many times I thought she was going to win," Selene claimed. "I thought Squirtle might win when he was on top of her. I thought Goldeen might win when she did all that stuff with Double Team and Agility. I thought Starmie was going to win with Blizzard, I thought Psyduck would win when he exploded like that, and Staryu was so close!" She held her arms a millimeter apart.
"Misty's strong." Ash asserted. If they battled again Ash wasn't sure which of them would win now. Pikachu would still be the ace in that battle but with all the moves and techniques Misty had added to her skillset, he wasn't sure that would be enough.
"But Latias was stronger." Eevee's tail drooped. "That's one heck of a Pokemon. Do you think she was that strong naturally or if Joy helped her get that strong?"
"I'd bet a mix of both." Pidgeotto guessed. "Strong Pokemon plus a good trainer equals a scary strong Pokemon."
Eevee managed to slight smile. "That math checks out to me."
"If I didn't know you better I'd say I was surprised by your reaction Ash," Pikachu noted. "But I kind of figured this is how you'd act if things went down the way they did."
Sunny didn't seem to understand Pikachu. "What do you mean?"
"Ash didn't want Misty to have to stay here and be a Gym Leader instead of traveling with us. Now she's not a Gym Leader so she won't have to leave." Pikachu reminded him. "But he's obviously not happy about it." He gestured and Ash nodded.
"Yeah…" He sighed. "It was easy to say I didn't want Misty to stay here. But seeing what that meant, I wish she had won. I wish she could stay and keep running the gym. I talked to her a bit last night and I thought about it a lot. I would have missed her but I think she would have been happy."
They sat silently for a few moments. "Well, if there's any lesson for us to learn from this, it's that we need to push our training further too. Team Rocket, Pokemon like Latias, the Pokemon League. We need to be a lot better than we are now." Pidgeotto asserted.
"You're right." Pikachu agreed. "We do, but I don't think any of us are in the mood for it tonight. And we might be here a few days, though I think we'll leave that up to Misty."
"Hard to say," Eevee thought about it. "Depends on how much more she's willing to be around her sisters. She really blew up at them."
"But they're still her sisters," Selene said. "If nothing else, I think she should get some closure, for good or bad."
An unexpected growl interrupted them and they looked at Sunny who blushed and held his gut. "I'm sorry, we haven't eaten all day, I didn't even realize how hungry I felt…"
"We should all have something to eat." Ash agreed and picked up his youngest teammate. "Let's get some food, I don't know if Lily is making enough for everyone but we'll see."
She was, thankfully. But the meal, either a late lunch or early dinner, was a quiet affair. No one felt like talking to each other. The food was good at least, Lily knew what she was doing, even when her mind was on other things.
Dusk was starting to set in when Joy arrived. Briefly, they debated waking up Misty, but they decided it was better to let her rest for now.
"That's fine." Joy didn't seem bothered. "But she'll need to stop by the Pokemon Center to give me her Gym Leader identification."
"She needs to go pick up her Pokemon anyway." Karen pointed out. "Might be later tonight might be tomorrow morning. She's been running herself ragged so I don't know how long she'll be asleep."
Joy nodded at Karen. "She certainly put up a good fight, better than I expected certainly. Though I suppose that's not through any fault of her own." She glared at the other Waterflower sisters.
"That girl seems to be the only one of you who understands what being a Gym Leader is supposed to be about. You are supposed to be skilled trainers who are experts in your chosen types." She started lecturing. "It's your job to provide a challenge to trainers who battle you, to help them learn and grow. Beyond that you should stand as pillars of your community, and while I suppose you've done that in your own way it shouldn't be at the cost of your abilities as trainers."
"I don't know how you managed to become leaders in the first place, that's not my business. But everything I've seen from you has made it clear you've only been putting the minimum amount of effort in. As of this moment, your Gym Registration is officially revoked. You have until the end of the day tomorrow to retrieve any personal effects that you may have on the premises." Joy announced and put a packet of paper marked with a big red stamp on the table.
Having said her piece and completed her inspection, Joy took her leave.
"That was actually kind of satisfying." Karen decided after the door closed behind her.
The three residents glared at the trainer. "Excuse me?"
"Look, I'd love to chew you out even more, but Misty and Joy beat me to it. Suffice it to say, you three are not good trainers. Like, I don't get it, why were you even running a gym? I bet there are plenty of people who would have wanted the job." Ash was wondering that himself on some level.
Lily was the one who spoke up. "Because we were supposed to. I liked doing the shows and we needed the gym to do them. The battling just… I never liked it much but saw it as a necessary evil. I just wanted to entertain people and show off. It was fun and it made me feel like I was a part of something bigger and grander."
"I've been putting thought into it recently," Violet admitted, stirring her drink with a straw. "I didn't think the battling was that interesting until Seel did something interesting. He combined Bubble and Surf and created this wave that exploded in a shower of sparkles. It was beautiful. I realized that I could train my Pokemon to show off while battling. It's been a lot of fun actually, and we've been getting better at battling too."
Violet's words piqued Karen's interest a bit. "That sounds a bit like Contests, you've heard of them right?"
"In passing." Violet shrugged. "Sometimes trainers who came to the shows would mention them and I'd tell myself I'd check it out later but I keep forgetting."
"Write it down, you sound like you'd be interested in those. I gave it a shot a few times, but some of those coordinators get real mean girl about it."
"You kind of have that vibe yourself." Lily pointed out.
"Eh." Karen took the opportunity to fluff her hair so it cascaded fabulously. "I like looking good, but those people can go absolutely crazy. I mean, travel around with an entire wardrobe and vanity set. I got a makeup bag with me but unless I'm staying in one place for a bit I don't go too crazy about getting my looks perfect. Especially since the only ones who will see me are a twelve-year-old tomboy and a ten-year-old Pokemon… trainer."
"Good save." Pikachu snickered.
"Anyway, we can talk fashion later. But my point stands. You guys really shouldn't have been running a gym. Do your shows some other way or somewhere else, I don't know." She shrugged.
"Easier said than done." Violet muttered.
Daisy remained silent throughout the discussion, pushing her food around on her plate.
A little after they cleaned up from dinner Ash and Karen sat down and talked for a bit.
"What's the plan now?" Karen asked. "Because I'm not sure what my plan is anymore."
He shot her a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I originally planned on going to Celadon with you and then heading back to Vermillion to go somewhere I could catch a Zorua." Karen elaborated. "But now I'm convinced if I turn my back for five minutes you'll somehow find a way to both level and save an entire city."
"It's not that bad," Ash complained.
"Yes it is, but that's not my point." Karen rubbed her face. "I don't know. It's been fun doing this. It's nice feeling like I'm part of a friend group, even if you're all younger than me."
"It's been nice having you around." He admitted. "I've learned a lot from you and you can be pretty funny and interesting."
"Funny and interesting." the older trainer chuckled. "I'll put that on my resume. But I think I'll stick around a bit longer. Maybe until you finish the Gym Circuit. Wherever that goes. We've kinda backtracked your route. It might be worth looking into some of the lesser-known side gyms, not sure what their status is with the whole gym inspection going on though."
"That could be interesting…" Ash nodded and thought about it. "I don't want to make a decision until we talk to Misty. After everything that's happened, I want to make sure she's alright first. With her losing the gym and everything with her sisters… I don't know what she'll want to do."
"Family issues and lost legacies. Story of my life. No." Karen shushed him when he opened his mouth. "I'm not telling you about it, yet anyway. Maybe when you're older."
He pouted. "I'm plenty old."
"And I'm too old." Karen flicked his cap off and ruffled his hair. "Why don't you head to bed? You won't do any good staying up late to talk to Misty if you're too tired to form a coherent thought."
Misty woke up sometime after midnight, a combined facet of having slept for around ten hours and being extremely dehydrated.
Water, she wanted water.
She staggered downstairs, dreamlike, the events of the day replaying in her waking mind. Her mind was already playing that hit song, 'Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.'
Rather than pour a glass of water she just took a whole water bottle out of the fridge and chugged it. She didn't feel like going back to sleep, she wasn't even sure if she could the way she was feeling right now. More likely she'd just lay in bed feeling miserable.
Misery bubbled in her chest and she wanted it to stop. It was all she could think about. Just running how much of a failure and a screw-up she was over and over again in her head. She couldn't even force herself to think about something else.
Every time she tried to shift her thoughts it felt cold and hollow and she just came back to how awful she felt. It sucked. This sucked. She sucked.
The fridge door closed with a slam, a bit harder than she meant but she couldn't bring herself to care. Instead, she just stood there staring at the blank metal for a moment and leaned her head against it.
She heaved a sigh, now what? She wasn't a Gym Leader anymore. Good news? She could keep traveling with Ash and going on adventures. Bad news? The rock she'd built her entire life around had crumbled beneath her.
Another sigh, why bother? Was she even a trainer anymore? Were they going to take her Pokemon away too? A part of her knew it was silly to think that but she couldn't help it. But now she couldn't send them back to the gym if her party got too full or anything. She'd need another sponsor or something probably.
Maybe that Professor Oak guy Ash knew. He seemed alright.
Speaking of her Pokemon, she should probably go and get them from the Pokemon Center. Was it even open this late? Well, of course, it was open, but was the front desk? There would be someone there this late, right?
Even if she couldn't pick up her team, it was better than standing or sitting around feeling sorry for herself. Nodding to herself, she turned around to leave and froze.
Daisy was standing there, with no makeup and her hair frazzled, in her pajamas.
They stood staring at each other silently.
"Hey…" Daisy looked more awkward than Misty had ever seen her before.
A foul feeling not directed inwardly began to swell up. She latched onto it like a life preserver. "What do you want?"
"I think we should talk." Her sister decided.
"Good for you, I think we shouldn't." She had nothing more to say to Daisy.
"Misty!" She stalked right past her older sibling and Daisy grabbed her by the arm. With a harsh tug, she got loose from her grip.
"Don't!" Misty whirled. "Don't touch me!" She sneered, the hurt look on Daisy's face brought dual emotions of shame and satisfaction. Good, Misty focused on the latter, she should be hurt.
Turning back around, she went to the closet and started tugging her shoes back on. Her hair was probably a mess but it wasn't like anyone would see her.
Daisy was still there. Misty didn't want to talk to her but she'd probably keep standing there, or worse try following her.
Fine, if she wanted to talk, Misty would talk, and she could listen.
"I'll talk to Ash and find out when he wants to leave and where we're going. I'll be out of your hair before you know it." Misty announced and hopped to her feet.
"Misty-"
"Hey! Since there's no gym for me to come back to you probably don't have to worry about seeing me again! Lucky you! No more runt to bother you about trying to do your job or ruining your perfect beautiful image." She opened the door.
"That's not-"
"Bye Daisy." Misty slammed the door behind her and refused to acknowledge the tears dripping down her face.
I have a lot of thoughts about this chapter.
Too many thoughts if I'm honest.
I could probably put together another thousand words describing my reasoning for every decision and choice made in this chapter.
This was always how things were going to turn out. Since about right before Saffron when I was putting together what the aftermath of Sabrina would look like and I realized Misty would probably try and live up to her Gym Leader role.
I don't like punishing characters harshly for doing the right thing, but this time I made an exception.
There were two choices. Either Misty won and was written out of the story, or she lost, and facilitated her growth both as a character, trainer and person.
It was never even a choice really, she was always going to lose this battle.
This story has changed radically from how I first pictured it. Some scenes I imagined back in 2017 just can't happen based on how the story came out. Some scenes I never dreamed of have become some of my favorite things I've written.
But writing Misty and Ash has become one of my favorite parts of this story. It's all down to the snowball effect, Misty and Ash's first meeting was different, she finds out he's a Pokemon, (and she canonically has a better disposition toward Pokemon) and he doesn't just grab her bike and run. So their relationship is less adversarial but still has lots of banter and fun moments of them just being friends.
Misty in the show has… and I hate using this phrase, a lot of missed potential. She has some moments but for the most part, she's just there as Ash's traveling companion. In this story, she's basically become a secondary protagonist, which was not intentional in the slightest.
Now, we'll have a bit of mixed perspective as things wrap up and the group moves on next chapter, but after that, we'll be mostly focusing on every favorite Zorua for a good while. Don't worry, this is still Ash's story, it's just other characters exist, and turns out they can have interesting arcs too. This was very surprising for me to figure out.
One last thing, for those of you who read the whole thing, what did you think of the battle? I tried experimenting a little bit with perspectives and stuff, I'd like some outside perspectives on how it turned out.
Review time!
ThePilotArchangel: Yeah, no secret tests of character, I thought I'd killed that last time at the beginning of the chapter by mentioning it was a "do your job" exam. As for Ash not joining, as the rules (which always existed in their current form) clearly state, no rental or loaner Pokemon.
LEGOBRICK13: Interesting idea you had there for Mina, unfortunately, that's not quite how things are playing out. That said I do have a plan for Mina to show up again in the not-too-distant future. Not in a major role but she'd be making an appearance. But yeah, as I stated above I really like how Misty has turned out in this story.
PenguinBandit523: Misty, sadly did not win. She came pretty close though and did better against a legendary Pokemon than most people in her position would have. Karen needs some work still. She's still being flushed out a bit and I'm getting my toolset ready to chisel her into the character she is destined to be.
Talesfanjmf: Glad you approve!
Shanics6: It makes sense to me at least. Ash is a dark-type in this story, a dark-type with a little bit of repressed childhood trauma. He knows it's selfish to want to keep his friends nearby and under his watch at all times, but he also can't help himself because he's worried about losing them and being left alone again.
Pokemon1994: OP Joy for the win! It's uhhh a bit weird how every Joy seems to be a Nurse Joy. Like, they have a choice in what they want to do right? Right?
GleamingKyler111: Good catch!
The one who reads and writes: We've spoken about this in PM so I won't cover it again here.
Lupercus1944: Boy, that sure is a very convenient amount of training arc. I wonder why that's here? Admittedly, the training arcs are a careful dance of showing what they're working on but also leaving enough that a few surprises can pop up in the chapter that still makes sense with what you know. Like, you know Misty stayed working with her team in the gym after Ash left the last chapter and worked on a few techniques and strategies, as well as accidentally discovering Psyduck's explosive psychic potential. Still, in the end, she lost and she's sticking around, and boy it's a hot emotional mess ripe for exploration.
And that's all for now. I'm not 100% sure about my current plan. Either this weekend or next I am updating Legends of Ash, but I don't want to leave too much of a gap in between chapters given how this one ended. I know how it can feel to be left sitting with an ending like this.
So many abandoned fics…
See you all soon!
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~FriTik
R&R