Chapter 46: A Model Gym Leader

Nessa stood at the edge of the lake, her tears long having long since dried up. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd felt more at home at the water's edge than anywhere else. Not surprising, considering she'd practically been born and raised at sea.

Nessa smiled and reclined back on the pier, allowing her frustrations to melt away as a distant memory played in her head.

It was years ago, back when she was too young to have a Pokemon. Her father, a fisherman by trade, had taken her out on one of his excursions to teach her how to make a living off the sea. But the young girl was only just paying attention, more interested in dipping her hand in the water, much to her father's annoyance.

"Nessa, get back in the boat! I don't want you falling in!"

"Don't worry, dad! I won't!"

Her father sighed, but realizing that reprimanding her further would yield no results decided to let it go and returned to his spot. Suddenly, Nessa spotted a lone Pokemon swimming aimlessly.

It was a Feebas, and she could tell she'd been having a rough time. Her fins were dented, and bruises marked her body. Nessa felt sorry for her, and beckoned for her to come closer.

"Here, Feebas! Here, fishy!"

Curious, the little water type swam over to her beckoning hand. Nessa smiled, and began to stroke her scales, making Feebas smile.

"Ah, you poor thing. You've been mistreated, haven't you?"
Feebas nodded sadly.

"Well, don't let them get to you. I know you're going to evolve into a beautiful Milotic one day!"

Feebas smiled, and gently rubbed her head against Nessa's outstretched hand before swimming away.

"Bye, fishy!

"Alright Nessa, that's it for today. Let's go home!"

But as Nessa returned home, her mind wandered back to the Feebas she had met, inspired to one day become as beautiful and strong as her.

Nessa sighed, pulling out her Rotomphone to look at her current ranking: 1,073, officially putting her back in the Normal Class. For most people they would probably see this as a minor setback and just win another battle to put them back in the Great Class. But Nessa had been on a bad losing streak lately in both her gym battles and World Coronation Series matches, and she was starting to doubt her abilities.

"Maybe I should just focus on my modeling career. At least I'm good at that…"

Just as she said that, she saw the edge of the lake ripple. Nessa wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a large Pokemon just underneath the surface of the water. Curious, she dived right in, her eyes darting back and forth to try and find the source.

Suddenly, a large shape whooshed past her, nearly making her gasp. Out of instinct, she grabbed onto it and was pulled upwards to the surface. Once they were above the water, Nessa realized that the shape was a Milotic. At first she was scared, but Milotic gently nudged her onto her back before taking off with her in tow. Once she realized she wasn't in any danger, Nessa began to enjoy the ride, cheering as Milotic made many impressive jumps.

"Whoo! I haven't had this much fun in years!"

Looking down at her steed, she couldn't help but think that she looked familiar. Suddenly, Milotic turned around to face her, and it hit her.

"Are you…are you the Feebas I met as a child?"

Milotic smiled, and nodded. After a few more laps around the lake, she returned Nessa to the docks and allowed her to climb off of her back. Nessa stroked her head a few times, her confidence renewed.

"Thank you, MIlotic. I needed that."

Milotic smiled, and swam back underneath the water.

"Nessa! I thought you might be here!"

Nessa turned to see her old friend Sonia running towards her, Ash, Lillie, and Goh in tow.

"Are you alright? You just ran off without saying anything."

"It wasn't anything I did, was it?

Nessa smiled, and started to walk away.

"I'm fine, I was just visiting an old friend. Come on, it's getting late."

With that, Nessa walked off, leaving Sonia and the Kanto trio very confused.

"And that's a win for Gym Leader Nessa! She's been having a rough time lately, but it's good to see she's making a comeback!"

Gloria stared in disbelief, her Thwackey having easily been dispatched by Drednaw.

"How? Grass type moves should've been four times as effective against a Water and Rock Type!"

Nessa scoffed, flipping her hair nonchalantly at Gloria's statement.

"Type advantages aren't everything, kid. What matters is how much you trust your Pokemon."

Gloria scowled, but left without further comment. From the stands, Sonia watched the battle with Ash and his friends.

"Serves her right for her behavior!"

"I agree, Goh. I don't know Hop can stand her."

"I wonder how she got so strong? Whoever that friend she met was, she must have left an impression on her."

After the battle was over and the stadium was cleared out, Ash and his friends went to say goodbye to Nessa.

"Look out Ash, because as soon as I get back in The Great Class I want a rematch!"

"Count on it, Nessa!"

And so, the trio set off for their next adventure, wherever that may take them.