The Very Best

by God of Sun

What if Ash never overslept? With his brand new Pokémon partner, Squirtle, he is going to go on a journey to become the next Champion of the Kanto Region! However, his journey is not going to be even remotely easy. Ash will have to deal with powerful enemies, new friendships, and to learn how to become someone that is worthy of being called a Pokémon Master!

7. The Sensation Sister of Cerulean

Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter 7! I want first to answer some questions that a reviewer asked me last chapter. I will say this. Things are going to go down in the Squirtle Squad episode. And no, Ash will not be getting a Pikachu. Sorry!

The next Chapter will be the last anime filler for this fic. Everything after chapter 8 will have actual value to the story. Introducing new characters, catching new Pokémon, Gym Leader, Team Rocket ETC. I'll make every chapter worth it; even the simpler ones will have some character development.

I will admit, Traveler is one of my favorite fanfics, and that is probably why I put Nidoran (M) on the team. Although, Nidoking is just a cool Pokémon in general, and I probably would've included him either way. Thanks for all the views and support; you guys are accommodating.

Gym Battle 2 is here, and we should make the sisters do something in this fic. Let me know what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, then why would I be on this website in the first place?

The Very Best:

Chapter 7:

The Sensation Sisters of Cerulean

Opening (If you want to): Ready, Steady, Go! (From Fullmetal Alchemist, cover by AmaLee)

---

Ash and company were now very close to Cerulean City, and it was fun to have someone like Green with them. Green had been traveling with the group for the past eight days, and even though she always had the energy to give, the group learned just how loyal she was. The bond between herself and the Pokémon impressed everyone, Ash taking notes from the girl.

Misty also told Green the truth about her since she was trying to build confidence for the eventual day. Green didn't react as she still treated Misty like a great friend, making the tomboy glad the person she liked didn't treat her differently. Brock went through on that promise of fighting Green for a girl to get a badge, and the fight was unique.

---

"Two Pokémon." Brock reminded Green as they found a nice clearing for this battle. Green was pumped as everyone watched from the side, Pyra sitting by them as she was there for moral support.

"Got it!" Brock released his Geodude as Green let out Viney, both excited as they came out. Ash was cheering for Green as Wartortle sat on his left, Misty to the right.

"Green should get this." Misty figured as she tried to take in all the information. "Not only is she decent with fighting, but she has Viney there with a quad-effective move. Worst case scenario, she'll have to spam Metronome with Luna."

"Please tell me he's distracted." Ryan thought as Jangmo-o watched the battle, taking a break from his ear-chomping to see what he could get from this. "Come on, Brock."

"Viney, Sleep Powder!" Viney released a glittering white powder that began to come to the Rock-type.

"Use Rollout to get as much damage as possible!"

"Geodude." Geodude curled himself into a small ball and rammed headfirst through the Sleep Powder, hitting Viney the first time. Geodude grew a bit tired as he tried his best to advantage of this move. Viney took two other hits as the attack grew stronger and stronger as it kept hitting. Geodude was trying to go for the full five hoping to knock him out, but the feeling of sleeping was too strong.

Geodude fell asleep as Viney was able to get his bearing again, seeing that his opponent was vulnerable.

"Use Vine Whip! Whip him to death!"

"...Isn't that a bit much?" Ryan remarked, seeing that Green was very excited about this battle.

Ash shrugged. "She likes to shout battle cries and defeat at her opponent. Nothing special."

"Char." Pyra was there to confirm.

Viney used Vine Whip and hit Geodude, who couldn't wake up after the first attack. Viney used a second Vine Whip to make Geodude faint in his sleep, making Brock have to call back his Rock-type. "Ready to give that badge, old man?"

"Old man?" Brock bewildered. "I'm only fifteen!" He sent out Onix as the massive Pokémon let out a mighty roar, looking at the small Grass-type. Bellsprout got another Vine Whip ready as he was about to use the move against his opponent.

"Onix!" Onix used his massive tail as a way of using Smack Down. Bellsprout couldn't get his attack to work as he was sent back, rolling on the ground. Green was there and held her precious Grass-type, Pyra wishing she could step in and see if Viney was well.

"Bellll..." He muttered in a weakened way.

"You deserve some time off," Green assured him as he returned to his Poke Ball, the girl getting her second Poke Ball after struggling to get her hand out of the pocket. "Go, Luna!" The big Fairy-type came out.

"Fa clef." She was pretty happy despite the massive Rock-type she was up against.

"Use Rock Polish." Brock wanted to ensure Onix would be a little faster than the Pokémon, polishing his body to reduce drag. His skin was akin to a cleaned diamond now.

"Metronome! It's okay if the move isn't that strong!"

"Clefa!" Luna moved her fingers back and forth as it was a mystery what move she would get. She stopped moving her tiny fingers as absolute zero cold suddenly was dispensed out of her. Misty gasped as Ash didn't know what move this was, Jangmo-o slightly shivering as the move went out. "SHEER COLD?!"

Brock and Onix stood in shock as the one-hit move reached Onix. "HUH?!"

---

From that, you can easily deduce how Green won that. She got her badge as she and Ash promised to fight the Gym Leaders together, Ryan seeming more interested as they talked about these battles. The group was all together as Cerulean was only one hour away, Ash and Green the most excited.

"Should I just use Wartortle for the whole fight?" Ash asked.

"That's probably your best option," Brock advised the boy, who was trying to figure out how to win this fight. "I can't see Pidgey doing any serious damage."

"Do you think Red will be there?" Green asked excitedly as she wanted to see that quiet boy again. Pyra was hanging out next to her. "I think you would love him, Brock. He is like a brother to us!"

Brock decided to go along with the girl. "I do hope to see this boy as well. He sounds interesting." Ryan made a noise as he was curious about something, getting Brock's attention. "Are you thinking of something?"

"This whole Gym Leader and battles is just interesting." He decided to joke. "Besides, it's easy to think when you don't have a Dragon-type trying to bite and pull on your ear."

"Mel." Pyra agreed.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" A voice yelled out behind them, making the group turn entirely around. It was none other than Misty herself; the girl was quickly running toward them. "How about we skip the disgusting Cerulean City and maybe just go to Vermillion City?" She tried to suggest positively.

This idea caused Ash to roll his eyes. "Misty. Again? You've been trying to convince us not to go for four days now."

"You can't claim that you are ready to confront your sisters and then just take any excuse to walk away from the city," Brock told Misty truthfully, as he was also annoyed by this.

Misty gave a defeated sigh. "I don't want to come here, okay? Why can't you understand where I am coming from?"

"Because we don't have siblings." Green, Ash, and Ryan answered at the same time. This synchronized answer made everyone else sweat drop and caused Wartortle to laugh.

"You act like we are forcing you into the city," Ryan exclaimed as he thought. "We kind of are, but you still don't have to come to the gym with us."

"I guess you're right," Misty admitted before she put her hands together, basically pleading to them. "I will do anything to make you not go to Cerulean City."

"Will you massage my feet?"

"...Almost anything." Misty corrected as Ryan smiled at what he had just said.

"I have an idea!" Green spoke up happily. Brock and Ryan weren't excited about what this girl's idea might be, Ash watching as the Pokémon were also nervous. "I know how to make us both happy."

"And what's that?"

"This!"

Green grabbed Misty's bag with speed and skill and threw it over fifty meters away. Misty yelped as she tried to chase after her bag, Brock and Wartortle admiring the surprising arm strength of the girl. "Everyone, run!" Ash realized why she had just done this.

Everyone corrected themselves as they took advantage of this, running away as Misty reached for her bag. "As I said, I found a way to make us happy." Green happily told them as this made Pyra smirk. Misty got her bag and accounted for every item, turning her head furiously at the group that had just left her.

"GREEN!" She yelled out. "YOU GET BACK HERE!"

---

Cerulean City was a lovely town to visit and live in. It was a place that was primarily full of houses that ranged from a pleasant one-story that any couple could live into small mansions that had beautiful yards. This city has always had a reputation for being the quietest of the Kanto towns, and it's perfect for someone who wants a simple life.

Our six-person group was walking in one of the many pleasant streets that Cerulean held. They reached the massive Pokémon Center as they needed quick healing for this battle, and two of Brock's Pokémon completely fainted. Coming in through the doors, they got their trays, except Ryan, as he was okay, and made their way to Nurse Joy.

"One round of healed Pokémon, please?" Green asked politely as Pyra lay rather content on her tray. Nurse Joy was dealing with some reports when she realized who was there.

"Oh! My sincerest apologies," She slightly bowed as she saw the people needing her help. "I'll make sure these Pokémon are in tip-top shape!" She frantically took the trays from them as the Trainers were shocked at how the older girl was trying to go.

"War." This highly fast-paced nature of the usually calm Nurse Joys was rather odd. She had some slight sweat as she ran back to her front desk.

"Are you alright? You seem stressed."

"Huh?" Joy quickly shook her head at Ryan's question. "I'm fine. Just have a lot more injured Pokémon today than usual, but I can take it."

Brock heard this as he approached the counter to try to be cool. The boy wanted to play it cool as he leaned on the counter. "You know, I am a bit of a nurse myself. How about we share the load? A beautiful girl like yourself can crack under pressure." Everyone watched as the older boy attempted to flirt with Nurse Joy. "Maybe you should get a nice break, some dinner if we have time."

Ash and Ryan gave massive sweat drops as Green had no intelligence for love, not giving that much thought to it. "No... He's one of those guys?" Ash asked in a defeated way.

Ryan was very uncomfortable by this; he shook his head. "Disgusting..."

Joy gave a fake smile as she leaned in, making Brock's blush deepen. "Aww. You need to work on your smooth talk." She plainly said as she walked away from the boy. Brock's gasped as his romantic heart was broken into pieces. "I've seen Pokémon have more charming words!"

"No! Please!" His begging was not responded to as Nurse Joy walked out on him. He looked at the group. "Did you see that? She rejected the notion of our true love after my smooth words."

Ash and Ryan looked at each other as they saw the older boy tear up after what he had gone through. "There, there." Green comforted as she saw her friend was sad. "You can always find another Rattata in the ocean."

"...Don't you mean Magikarp?"

"That's what I said. We can find you another Magmar!" She corrected herself happily as everyone stated, Ash smiling at his good friend.

Ash looked around as he still had the fossil from Mt Moon. "Green," This made the girl perk up. "Let's call the professor and see what he could do about these fossils."

She happily nodded. "Sure!" They went to the computers there as Brock came with them, thinking that talking to his family would fill in the new crater in his heart. Ryan was left alone as he sighed.

Suddenly, Jangmo-o emerged from his Poke Ball, and he shook himself off. He looked at Ryan's face or, more accurately, his right ear. "Don't you dare..." Ryan warned in a slow voice as he saw what the Dragon-type wanted.

He didn't listen as he went up the arm and softly bit down on the ear. "Jan." The Pokémon said in between his teeth. Ryan groaned as he flopped onto the seat, stuck with the terror of his Pokémon.

Green dialed the number as she was able to make the phone ring, the two waiting by the thing. The ringing from the phone ended as a familiar voice came through. "Hello?"

"Hi, Professor Oak!" Green was energetic as she spoke. This caused Oak to give out a small chuckle.

"I was wondering when you would call again." The screen changed once more as the camera had Oak in his office, and the older man was pleasantly surprised to see Ash there. "You as well, Ash? This is a good way to start the day."

"Thank you, professor. But you don't need to tell us that."

Oak shook his head. "I feel betrayed that you would ever think such a thing of me. You're breaking my heart." Oak pretended to grab his chest in pain as he played this for a laugh.

"Oh no! Don't die, Professor Oak!" She dug around in her bag as the Old Amber came out. "We need to show you our new rocks!" Oak stopped his little acting as he saw what they had. He gasped.

"Is that Old Amber? With a Helix?!" Oak was quite giddy at the two fossils he saw. "How intriguing! I can't believe you were able to find those so early on. Not even Gary was able to snag one of them."

"Are you saying that we have something that Gary doesn't?"

"War?" Ash was excited at the prospect that he could one-up Gary at something. They hadn't even met yet!

"I don't want you to raise your hopes too high, but... that's basically what's happening!" Ash pumped his fist as he, along with Green, shared a big fist bump. "By the way, how is your Pokémon hunt going? I thought I would've been sent some Pokémon from either of you by now."

"We only have three Pokémon each."

"Green!" Ash was a bit annoyed that his friend just casually revealed how their lack of collecting had led to.

"Only three? I know you would rather not hear this, but last I talked to him, Gary has already collected twenty Pokémon."

Their brains stopped for a second. "TWENTY?!" Their scream of shock silenced the whole room.

"...Yes. That is precisely the number I just said." Oak was calm as he continued. "I know that this isn't my place to judge, but you should probably work on getting a full team. Could you make that your goal before Vermillion City?"

Ash shook himself as he looked on with new-found determination. "I promise, me and Green will show you and Gary! We can easily get three new Pokémon until then!"

"Professor?" Green spoke up. "Since the evolved form of Pokémon count as unique entries, wouldn't that mean we have four Pokémon each? Since Wartortle and Pyra are labeled under different numbers?"

This was one of those rare moments where Green was actually brilliant. Whenever this happened, even someone like Professor Oak was left quiet as the point had the truth. Ash was surprised that the girl made a valid distinction as Oak rubbed his chin, crossing his arms as he proudly smiled.

"Fine. You got me there." He remarked as Green gave a goofy smile, but to her original self. "Although, I am still right about the full team thing. You don't have to, but you wouldn't be the Ash and Green that I know if you didn't."

"Thanks' for that, professor." Ash gratefully said. "How is my mom?"

"She is doing quite well. I know that something is coming up, something with a boy in a hat." Oak joked as he pretended to think. "I got it! It must be another tennis tournament for Red!"

"Professoorrrr!"

Oak chuckled at the childish response. "Of course, I know it's your birthday, Ash. Are you excited about reaching double ones?" He shook his head. "What am I asking? Of course, the person the whole day is about would be happy!"

Ash shared a laugh with him, Green wrapping her arms around him in a friendly embrace. "I am excited! I'll try to find some way to talk to you that day."

"You better. It would be a shame if you missed out on me!" Oak gave a kind smile as he saw how Ash was surrounded by his friend. "At least call your mother. I hear a certain someone from Sinnoh is coming to visit..."

Ash happily gasped. "Uncle Riley is visiting?!" He was excited at having Riley revisit him, remembering how he would always bring Pokémon from Sinnoh that he was allowed to meet and play with. "Is he already in Kanto?"

"Yay! Ri-Ri is coming!" Green always enjoyed how level-headed he always was. She kept trying to tell people that he was what Red would be like in the future.

"Not quite sure." He answered honestly. "If you can speak to your mother on that day, I'm sure he'll be there to speak as well. I am glad your mother has her brother there to keep her company."

Ash couldn't help but agree, knowing it was probably lonely for Delia without him around. He then remembered something. "Speaking of company, remember that assistant you were asking for?" Oak nodded. "I think we found one."

"Really, now? What's their name?"

"H-"

"His name is Seymour!" Green cut it as she was happy about talking about her scientist friend. "He has glasses, was in Mt Moon, very smart, researched Pokémon, and wants to be like you!"

"...Interesting." Oak lowered his voice in a whisper, ensuring Ash was the only one to hear him. "Is this Seymour someone she made up?" When Ash shook his head in seriousness, Oak breathed a sigh of relief.

"He is a brilliant guy, even if he isn't always normal."

"I see. Tell me, when will this Seymour arrive in Pallet Town?" Oak questioned the group as he had an intrigue with this man. "I want to know what day I'll be able to meet him roughly."

"He's... he's... I don't know where he is." Ash admitted as Oak slapped his forehead, unhappy at what he had just heard. "He left for Pewter two weeks ago, so he should be there by now, hopefully. Could the new Flying Service bring you to Pallet Town?"

"Ah, the Flying Service. If he is in Pewter, it should only take four days to get here with that method, assuming nothing bad happens with the weather." He sighed. "I'm not crazy about the whole Flying Taxi thing. I was worried that it would cost a bit much to implement, but Blue still went through with it."

"Are you alright, professor?" Green's honest question was met with a slight nod, the girl holding up the Old Amber. "Do you know what I am supposed to do with this?"

Oak cleared his throat. "Well, you would take that to a Fossil Machine for it to get revived and transformed into a Pokémon. Unfortunately, I don't have one of those machines on hand."

"Where could we find one?"

"The only one I could think of is at Cinnabar Island." Ash cringed, thinking that he would have to carry this rock around with him until they reached the island. "If you want, I can hold on to them until you can use them."

Ash was so grateful for this. "That would be great. I rather not carry this around the entire region."

Green looked at her Old Amber as she heard this. "Very well, I'll alert Nurse Joy about transporting them to me. Anything else that you would like to speak of?"

"I like your hair, Professor Oak. The gray is cool on you." Green commented as she wanted to make the man smile. Oblivious as to what she did.

Instead, the man had his lips go into a thin line as he tried to compose himself. "Thank you, Green. I'm glad my hair is slowly losing its color." He nodded as he tried not to be mean to her. "I hope you all have a great day."

"You too." They exchanged goodbyes as Ash ended the call, standing up to look at Green with a blank face.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No." He realized what he had just said. "Well, maybe a little. But that's okay."

Green returned to her smiling self as they went to Nurse Joy, the woman having less work now. "What do you two need?"

"Can you teleport something for us?" Ash lifted the Dome Fossil as Green lifted the Old Amber. "Especially this?"

Nurse Joy took the two fossils as she was highly fascinated by them. "When I was younger, I always wanted to be an Archaeologist. But, um..." She shook her head, knowing that they probably wouldn't care. "Where do you want me to send these two?"

"Pallet Town. Professor Oak's lab." Nurse Joy nodded as she took the fossils to be transported away-Green shed small tears as the Old Amber left her.

"Goodbye, golden rock. You will always be my favorite stone!" Ryan came to them, green bursting out laughing when she saw the Dragon-type dangling from his ear.

"Need help?"

"I needed help a long time ago," Ryan responded as he felt drained at how his Pokémon acted. He looked at the little scamp that was Jangmo-o. "If you're going to bite on something, don't make it my ear."

"You never know. Maybe biting down on something is how they make friends." Green's idea made Ash laugh as Ryan was still stone-faced. "Want to come to see our battle?"

"Of course. Just tell me when it's going to happen, okay?"

"Sure thing." Ash went to Brock as the teenager wrote down something on a notepad, his father on the other side of the phone. "Mind seeing our match later?"

"Yeah. Let me finish this list quickly." Brock answered without even looking at him. "You didn't get those spicy chips, did you?"

"Ash. Green." Nurse Joy spoke up. "Your Pokémon are in tip-top condition."

The two kids went to get their trays as Green was reunited with Pyra. "Thank you, pretty lady." This nickname made Nurse Joy confused, but she still smiled as Ash thanked her as well.

Ash looked at his Water-type as he held him in front, having gotten used to his partner's weight. You excited, bud?"

"Wartortle." The Pokémon nodded.

---

Ash and Green wandered around as they had no idea where the gym was. At least it was an excellent excuse to explore the town, seeing all the stores and how lively the whole city was. They didn't bother asking around as their stubbornness wanted them to find it alone.

Ending up finding a good friend of theirs.

"Do you see who that is?" Ash asked as he noticed a familiar person with a Pikachu near them, the person noticing them as well.

"Hmmm? Is it the rock on the road?" She pointed to a semi-big rock on the ground in between them.

Wartortle slapped himself after the answer they just got, Pyra wanting to do the same, but the Fire-type needed to keep her brain intact for Green. Ash just chuckled. "You aren't wrong. But who's that behind the rock?"

Green gasped as she looked again. "It's Red!"

Lo and behold, Red approached them with his very lax presence, his trusty Pikachu beside him. "This day keeps getting interesting." He thought as he came to his good friend's.

"What's up?" Ash asked as the two shared a good handshake. Green wrapped them into a great hug, Pikachu meeting with Wartortle and Pyra, surprised at how they evolved.

"Yes! The trio is back together!" She happily said as she was crushing them with her affection.

Ash and Red took it on like nothing as Green eventually stopped, only taking a minute to do so. "You guys did well to come here." He quickly cleared himself as he realized something. "Oh. Happy Birthday, Ash."

"Um... Thanks." The boy still took the sentence as if it was that day. "It's a bit early to say that, but that's okay."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Red admitted as he was a bit shy after making that mistake. He looked down at the Wartortle and Pyra, recognizing them as the Charmander and Squirtle he had seen over a month ago. "I could tell you've been doing well on Pokémon Training." He gently petted the two with different hands.

"We've been getting stronger, faster!" Green proclaimed.

"I can see that." He stood up and faced Ash, Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder. "How's your Pokémon journey so far?"

"We got the first badge easily, and we were able to befriend the Kommo-o living in Mt Moon." Ash quickly listed as he tried to think of everything as a whole. "That Misty girl is with me now, and Brock decided to join us."

"Brock?" Red was surprised. "Impressive. I can't think of many people that has a former Gym Leader on their side. Nothing to report that you haven't mentioned." He thought of something else to say. "How you're Pokémon collecting coming along?"

"Oh!" Ash was worried that he would ask this, but Green happily answered that. "We only have three Pokémon!"

"Three?" Red closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Three. It's not a one, but it's not a six, either. It's also not my number, ten."

"Pik."

"Green keeps saying that we technically have four Pokémon since our starter evos count as separate species." He scratched his head. "Does that work?"

Red shrugged. "I'm all for technicalities, and I would take a win without much question." He cleared his throat. "Speaking of winning, are you looking for the gym?" Ash and Green nodded. "Come with me because I can tell you don't know where you're going."

Ash puffed his cheeks a bit. "You don't need to attack us like that." Red just calmly looked at him. "What are you doing now?"

"I have a letter to send to someone." He pulled a white envelope from his pocket, holding it between two fingers. "I've already beaten the gym with just my Pikachu. Let's see if you can follow my example."

"Do we only have to beat them with just one Pokémon?"

"War?" Wartortle asked as well with his Trainer.

"That part's optional." Ash breathed out relief after hearing that.

They walked down as Green noticed something going on in the side. She turned to see a massive crowd gathering for something in a gigantic, orange building with a slanted roof. "What's that about?"

Everyone turned as Red tried to think of what to say. His head finally clicked. "A Pokémon Contest is going on. The where the judges judge the Pokémon and their moves on how stylish they are."

"Pokémon Contest?" There was slight dread in Ash's voice. He had nothing against those kinds of things, but they just seemed too girly to him. "How big is this one?"

"I didn't care enough to ask. I've been here a few days, and it's still going." Red and Pikachu quickly shook themselves. "Let's keep going."

"Let's.' Ash fully agreed. Green used her brain as something came to her.

"Red," Green was in her imaginative self again as the boy turned. "If you've been here a few days, why haven't you left to continue your journey? Were you waiting for us to come here?"

Red just gave a soft smile. "Maybe." The three spoke on good terms as Red guided them to the gym, blowing past all the other exciting stuff in Cerulean.

The Cerulean Gym was much bigger than the one back in Pewter, and its shape and overall appearance were completely separate. This gym had some form to it and had a lot of open space at the very bottom of it. There was a long, somewhat plump, seal-like Pokémon that was completely white. Underneath the Pokémon were the words: 'CERULEAN GYM.' In blue, bold letters.

"You excited?" Red cooly asked as Pikachu was on his head.

The two smirked. "What kind of question is that?" Green asked as Pyra and Wartortle saw their next challenge, getting themselves bumped for this.

Red gave a soft smile back. "I guess you're right."

"Pi. Pika chu." Pikachu loudly whispered to his Trainer's ear, Red turning his head slightly and nodding.

"I still need to go deposit this." He said as he showed off the letter, lazily waving his friends off. "I'll watch you two when the match is ready. Try not to lose and all that."

Green giggled at how Red was. "Of course, we won't lose!" Ashe declared. "Watch! We'll get this one first try as well!"

"War!"

Red sighed. "You two are always so loud..." He complained before sending a smile. "How troublesome." Green made sure she gave a mighty hug before Red walked away, his letter in between his fingers. Ash gave a little to Green's shoulder and got her attention, nodding in understanding when they looked each other in the eyes. The two and their Pokémon went forth.

---

The two entered as they walked around, making sure to go in when everyone had left after the show finished. The place was immense as they looked around, trying to find the sisters. The number of fans that came here was astounding, Ash promising that these kinds of people would cheer his name one day. Green was looking at everything positively.

Green smiled at seeing the personal aquarium all over the walls. "Char." Pyra tried to drag Green away from looking at the group of Feebas that just swam by the glass.

Green tapped the glass to get their attention. "You three are so cute." She cheerfully told after she got their notice. The Water-types were surprised by her comment, thinking of their ugly selves as something more.

Ash scratched his head as he and Green roamed the hallways, hoping they would somehow stumble onto them. "Is there anything up those stairs, Wartortle?"

Wartortle slid back down and landed next to his Trainer, shaking his head in a negative response. The boy tried to think where they could be, not noticing how three people had turned to the hallway they were in. "Char! Char!"

The three saw that Pyra was pointing to someone down the hall, Ash excited at who he saw. Three females were coming their way, each having their own-colored hair to them. The one on the right had blue hair tied with a red beaded hairband with brown eyes. The right sister, the youngest, had short red hair with blue eyes. Finally, the oldest of the group had terrific golden hair with a flower, having the same eyes as her second youngest sister. She had a mole on the left side of her face.

"That was totes amazing." The one with blue hair said to the youngest. "Have you been practicing with Vaporeon more?" Green and Ash were surprised at who this was.

The Sensational Sisters were walking in the same hallway, talking amongst themselves. Our group came over as Ash politely got their attention. "Excuse me -"

"I'm sorry, but you will have to, like, see our manager for an interview." The oldest one told Ash before he got to finish his sentence.

"I didn't come for that -"

"And no, we aren't doing autographs right now." The short-haired girl cut the boy off for a second time.

"I'm not interested in any of that." Ash finally told them in a slightly annoyed way. "I was wondering if I could fight any of you."

The blonde girl then grew a smile on her face. "But of course. After all, we are the Sensational Sisters." She proudly declared with crossed arms, the other two standing by her side. "This one is Violet," She pointed to the blue-haired girl. "The other one is Lily," She then directed her finger to the girl with short hair. "And I am Daisy." She proudly pointed to herself.

"We are not only the gym leaders of Cerulean but also world famous," Violet told the group. Green and Pyra were finding this kind of talk rather annoying.

"Char." She commented that the girls were more interested in their fame than this conversation.

"And with beauty like ours, we are always open for photos," Lily added; the three girls began laughing together.

Ash and Wartortle weirdly looked at them, not believing just how different Misty was compared to these girls. "I see why Misty didn't want to come here."

---

Everyone stood by the pool the girls were performing at as Green and Ash stood determinedly as they faced the three older girls. "Sensational Sisters," Ash began. "Me, and my fellow Trainer Green, have come to challenge you for the Cascade Badge!"

"Wartortle!" The Pokémon agreed with his trainer.

"Oh? The two of you?" Daisy began to nervously play with her hair other two began to look away from the ten-year-olds. "We... like, can't do that."

"Why not?" Green immediately questioned after hearing that sentence.

"We just got beaten up by three separate Trainers, two of them coming from the nowhere place called Pallet Town," Violet explained. Both Green and Ash deflated as they knew exactly who those two were. "And there was this third boy. What was his name again?"

"I think it was like... Paul?" Lily was unsure as she answered. Ash and Wartortle seemed to remember someone, as Green and Pyra were oblivious to who this was. "Anyway, we only have, like, enough Pokémon for one battle."

"All our Pokémon are, like, stuck at the Pokémon Center, and the other two belong to our younger sister." Violet elaborated. "So, like, we can't fight the two of you. Only one."

Ash seemed to understand this reasoning as he sighed. Green wasn't going to take this, though. "You don't have anything else?"

"Char?"

"Don't worry. You two won't leave here empty-handed." Daisy promised with a sweet smile as she clapped her hands in a certain way. "Seel!"

From the pool came out a chubby pinniped Pokémon with a thick, fatty body covered in bluish-white fur. He had a pale tan maw with a large red tongue sticking out and a pair of tusks on his lower jaw. He had circular eyes, a black nose, and a small horn on his forehead—two flippers on his chest and tail.

"Seel!" The Seel landed next to the girls, a Cascade Badge on his tongue as he stuck it out. Daisy took the badge and showed it to the two Trainers.

"The Cascade Badge. If you want to, one of you can have it." Daisy told the pair.

"No! I don't want to get the badge like this!" Green angrily said, Ash being in the same boat as her.

"Girl, it's only a badge," Daisy explained as she showed it off. "You should take advantage of this. I know anyone else would."

"Well, maybe I don't want to be like other people. I want to get my badges fairly!" Ash and Green declared with crossed arms, the Pokémon feeling the same way. Daisy just sighed in response, about to toss the badge aside.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Everyone turned their head to where the new voice was coming from, and everyone opened their mouths in surprise. Misty stood on the seats at a higher elevation than them. The girl swiftly jumped over the metal railing and landed between the two groups. Misty looked at her sisters in a determined manner.

"YAY!" Green cheered as she clapped. "Misty's here!"

"I'm still mad at what you did!" Misty pointed angrily at the happy girl, grumbling it off. "However, I didn't come here for you." He faced her sisters.

"Oh, look. It's that runt that ran away from home." Daisy commented in a very condescending way.

"The same girl that promised she wouldn't return until she became a great Pokémon trainer," Violet added. "Aren't those your exact words?"

"...I may have said that," Misty responded shyly. "But that is not why I came here."

"Then what for?" Daisy was curious to see what their little sister had to say.

She took a deep breath, knowing that her words had to be perfect. "I heard you three don't have enough Pokémon to fight these two properly." She jabbed her thumb behind her at the two Pallet Trainers. "Luckily for you, I came at the best time."

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you use two of my Pokémon?" Misty finally suggested after all this setup. "My Marill and Starmie are perfect for a fight like this."

Daisy was about to respond with snark but took the time to hear her out. The sisters bickered amongst themselves as they tried to discuss this idea. Even though she brought out a sure face, she was nervous that her opinion would be perceived as wrong. Ash and Green were surprised, glad at seeing Misty stick her Pokémon out for them.

"It's not against the rules." Lily finally said after she thought it through. "As long as we, like, use the Pokémon of our specialty, I don't see why not."

Daisy sighed as she looked at Misty. "Alright. Because you, like, stood up, and because we don't have another option, we'll go through with this." Daisy suddenly smirked. "After all, it's best if these Pokémon have a proper Trainer using them."

"I am a proper Trainer!" Misty's declaration was only met with laughter.

Ash wouldn't stand around as his friend was getting the short end of the stick. "Hey! I bet she's as good a Trainer as any of you! I've spent the most time with her, and I've seen for myself."

"Hmm? You've traveled with our little sis?" Violet put her hand back on her chin as she looked between them, snapping her fingers. "I get it. You two must be a thing!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Misty valiantly said. She only saw Ash as a friend. Ash breathed out a sigh, kind of glad that Misty didn't think of him like that.

Green just chuckled as she saw this, Pyra joining in. "Don't worry. They're not like that."

"How do you know that Misty is as incredible as us?"

"How about we bet on it? If I win my battle against you, not only do I get the badge, but you will admit that Misty is just as great as you." Ash proposed.

"War!" Wartortle was there to defend his friend's honor. Misty was glad that someone cared enough to do this, but she showed annoyance as she didn't ask to be protected.

Daisy shrugged. "Fine. Although, what will you offer us?" She asked in a somewhat serious way. "What are you willing to bet on?"

Ash didn't know what to say immediately as he thought momentarily. He tried to think of what he had to give, as there was no way he would ever bet off his own Pokémon. Green and the Gym Leaders waited as Misty was about to step up, telling them to stop this. The following line shocked her.

"My chance at getting the Cascade Badge!"

Misty was taken highly back. Green was excited, but she and her Fire-type wondered why Ash would do this. Wartortle was just as shocked as Misty was, wondering if Ash had just lost his mind. Violet and Lily gasped, Daisy smiling at the boy's boldness.

Daisy shrugged. "Alright. We can work with that."

"Ash!" Mity grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him violently. "What are you doing?! Do you realize what you're risking?" She demanded with gritted teeth.

"Of course I do. Making sure my friend gets some respect."

"But you don't have to do it like this!"

"War." Wartortle agreed with Misty, finding this very stupid.

Ash sighed. "I know what I'm doing is risky; I know what I'm giving up," He broke out of Misty's as he gave and thumbs up at her. "And I'll take it all at once!" He turned to Daisy as he walked up to her.

"We'll have our battle in two hours, and you'll be taking on the team we already had." Daisy chuckled. "But honestly, you would probably have asked us for this team anyways."

Ash shrugged. "Probably." Green wrapped her arms around Ash.

"OH! I'm excited! I know you won't lose!" She was fully confident in Ash, unlike Misty, who had her doubts. Pyra fully supported him and Wartortle, something the Water-type needed, knowing luck had to be extra kind to them. Misty watched on, seeing that Ash was doing this!

Lily gained a big smile on her face. "I'll send out an announcement." She spoke. "Something like this requires a proper audience."

---

It had been four hours since Lily made that promise, and it showed. The number of people that came to the gym this quickly was astounding. Almost all the rows had people on them, even the lesser ones still having about ten. Ash knew he always wanted a crowd like this, but he didn't expect it to be this early or even this big.

Ash was on the left side of the same pool they were near, now having floating, colored platforms to turn this into a proper battlefield. He looked around as Wartortle was by his side. "This crowd's nice, but I can tell they just came here to see the sisters." He pointed at some girls that were trying to copy how the girls did their beautiful hair.

"War! Watortle!" Wartortle tried to tell Ash otherwise, ensuring the boy understood that he probably played a part in this. Ash smiled at how Wartortle was attempting to lift his spirits.

All the other group members got good seats in the middle rows, allowing good positions to watch. Misty, Ryan, Brock, Pyra, and Green were all there as they waited for the battle to start. Pyra was sitting on Green's lap.

"Aren't you guys excited about this fight?!" Green tried to be positive as he saw Brock trying to sort out the multitude of stuff in his bag. "What 'cha doing, Rocky?"

"I'm trying to get the supplies for the cake to fit in here. It's annoying." Brock also wanted to complain about the nickname but didn't want to be in a bad mood at this time.

Red walked to them as he had Pikachu look at the seat number again, walking up to the group. "Excuse me," He spoke. "May I have this seat?"

Misty gasped at seeing the taller boy. "Hi, Red." She greeted as she signaled that Red was allowed to sit. "Do you remember me? I was that girl from Viridian?" Red quietly nodded, honestly forgetting about her.

"So you were the last Trainer from Pallet Town," Ryan observed as he remembered that he had never fought him. "It's an honor to meet you at last."

"Hey, Red." Brock waved to the boy that he had fought before, Red being surprised as he waved back. Pikachu was in disbelief as well. "You two just got here in time. The fight is about to start soon."

"I hope I wasn't late for my friend's battle."

Everyone took their seats as Jangmo-o came out of his Poke Ball, making Ryan sigh as he made himself comfortable and got a good view of the battle. "Again? Are you going to keep doing this?"

"Jang!" Ryan was silently cursing his head-strong Jangmo-o as Red watched on.

"Did you catch that Dragon-type?"

"Huh?" Ryan realized what he was asking. "Oh. Yeah, back in Mt Moon."

Red stayed silent momentarily before giving a thumb's up to the boy. "Not bad." Ryan was not expecting a compliment as Jangmo-o smiled, seeing that his Trainer was taking this well.

Their concentration was fully back on the battle as Daisy entered. The crowd erupted as the oldest sister was out, sending air kisses and seductive smiles to the hordes of fans that came. She took all this overwhelming praise and admiration like it was second nature when the average person would've easily gotten overwhelmed. Daisy laughed sweetly as she took her place in the battle.

"We've gathered quite the crowd here," She told Ash with a smile. "Let's hope you won't be the one to bring down her or them."

Ash scoffed. "Not a chance," Daisy said nothing as Lily came out, a megaphone in her hand as the crowd gave another roar.

She took her place as she climbed up a tall lifeguard chair on the side, giving some quick waves before turning the thing on. "THE MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"

Misty watched anxiously, hoping for Ash to win. "You've done well so far. Don't let this be the time you fail!"

"I'm doing this for you guys." Ash thought as he got into a fighting stance. "I'm ready!"

"Wartortle!"

Lily took this as a sign. "The battle will begin in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1!" The seconds felt like minutes as the counter made its way to zero. Everyone held their breath for what was to come. "GO!"

"Show your stuff, Seal!" The cute Water-type came from Daisy as he clapped his little flippers, seeing Wartortle jump out into the field.

"Seel! Seel!"

"Wartortle!" The strong Water-type showed himself off as he made it out, his presence being cheered.

"You got this, bud!" Ash encouraged his partner as he pointed his finger at Seel. "Use Bite!"

Wartortle skillfully jumped across the platforms as all the practice started to show through. He readied his jaw as his teeth became sharper and coated with a protective casing. Seel was able to flop out of the way.

"Headbutt, Seel!"

"See!" Seel stuck out his small head as he was about to jam it in Waortortle. The stronger Water-type saw this and summoned the shied from Protect, dodging the attack entirely and making Seel bounce back.

"Try Bite again!" Wartortle readied his teeth again as he jumped into the air, landing this one. Seel took good damage as not only was Wartortle 4 level higher but that Seel was better adapted for special attacks, not physical.

"Protect?" Red observed. "Did you guys teach him that, or did he naturally learn it?" The answer he got was for the latter.

Daisy watched as she went for the next attack. "Icicle Spears."

Seel landed safely as he launched sharp icicles half the size of himself. "Tortle." Wartortle could dodge the first two that came his way, accidentally fumbling when the third one came and took the move head-on with the fourth.

"Be careful out there!" Misty said worryingly to the Water-type, worried about this fight.

"Bubble Beam!" Wartortle shot the high-pressured bubbles at Seel, who could take the move, but it could still take health away. Seel responded with another Headbutt as Warotrtle dived into the water to avoid it. He tried to get the upper hand with a surprise Rapid Spin out of the water.

"Dodge it!' Seel jumped off the platform as Wartortle zoomed off it, annoyed that Daisy could call it.

"Looks like Seel will be easy for Wartortle to handle," Brock observed as he was glad for his friend. Misty did not comment back.

"Icicle Spear again!" Daisy tried to get one more attack in as she knew that Seel didn't have much left to him. Seel gave it his all as he got the whole five ice spears. Wartortle made his way closer as he side-stepped the icicles. One hit him on the leg, and another almost grazed his tail.

"Finish this off with Bite!" Wartortle landed the last attack he needed, even getting a critical hit without requiring it. The fainted Seel was called back as Daisy seemed less chill. The prospect of losing was becoming a reality.

"Yes! Yes!" Misty's excitement took over as she became as hyper as Green usually was. "Keep going, Wartortle!" Her voice stood out in the cheering crowd.

"Keep going, blue shell man!" Green said as well. Pyra was thrilled and saw her fellow starter get a major point.

Jangmo-o seemed quite happy at the strength of Wartortle as Ryang gently petted his Dragon-type, something the Pokémon had no real issue with. "His Wartortle is strong," Red observed, smiling at how well his friend ended up as a Pokémon Trainer.

"He took very little damage," Brock added as he was taking in everything about the fight. "He might get through this with only a single Pokémon if he makes no unsafe moves."

"Pika? Pikachu was excited at having another Pokémon that could also solo this team. He knew that fighting Wartortle could be interesting, even with the apparent type disadvantage.

Daisy sighed as one of her two Pokémon were gone. She brought out a Great Ball, her chance to turn this fight around. "Show your stuff."

Another Water-type came out. Her body was light blue with a dark blue marking around her head and a spiky ridge down her spine. She had black eyes and a tiny black nose. A white fin encircled her neck, and three fins with cream-colored webbing on the head. Two fins were on the side, similar to ears, and one was directly on top, resembling a dorsal fin—three tiny toes on each of her feet and dark blue paw pads on the hind feet. A split tail finished the look.

"Vaporeon!" The Eeveelution stepped out as people began to cheer. People chanted both Daisy and Vaporeon's names.

Wartortle look didn't deter as Ash brought out Dexter, having seen Vaporeon in a TV show before. "Vaporeon, the bubble jet Pokémon. Number 161. Evolved from Eevee. Pokémon typing: Water. Found quietly resting by lake shores. Its cell structure resembles water, which can invisibly melt into water. This specific Vaporeon is female and level 20. This Pokémon has the following moves: Water Gun, Flail, Water Pulse, Aurora Beam." Dexter stated. Red's Dexis gave the same information as the quiet boy hummed to himself.

"Take down Wartortle, Vaporeon!" The Eeveelutoon nodded as she jumped up and launched a pulsing blast of water at the higher-level Pokémon. Wartortle successfully dodged as he avoided the chance of being confused.

"Who do you think is better?" Ryan asked Red as the older boy was looking through Dexis's pages.

"Vaporeon has superior stats and special attack, with much health to her. Wartortle does have the level advantage, though." He stopped as he read one of the facts on Vaporeon on the Pokédex. "Huh. Did you know that Vaporeon-"

"Come on, Ash! Beat the walking fish!" Green yelled out, cutting Red off from his explanation.

"Use Rapid Spin to get close, and then use Bite!" Ash instructed Wartortle.

"War." Wartortle nodded as he ducked into his shell and slid across the platforms quickly, jumping from place to place. Vaporeon used Water Gun to try and slow him down, getting some free damage in there. Wartortle got close and landed a decently strong Bite on Vaporeon. He jumped off before she could whack him off with her tail.

"Use your Aurora Beam!"

"Vapore!" Vaporeon released a rainbow-colored beam at Wartortle. The Water-type took the multitude of colors as he luckily didn't get any attack taken from him. He responded with a Rapid Spin that hit Vaporeon squarely in the face. The crowd still cheered as Ash seemed to be the one winning.

"Water Pulse!"

"Bubble Beam!" Ash said to counter it.

The two moves came from the Pokémon as they collided with one another, causing a small explosion to happen in the middle of the field. The water moved violently briefly as it spilled over the side. This only made the crowd get even louder.

Vaporeon went for the surprise attack with Aurora Beam again. "Dodge it!" Wartortle went into the water and escaped, which the female Pokémon did as well. Wartortle could sense that something was down here as Vaporeon was invisible underwater. She got the jump with Water Gun underneath one of the platforms.

Wartortle looked around before deciding to return to the surface, losing the significant advantage that Vaporeon had as she was underneath. "War." He told Ash.

"Keep your cool ears peeled," Ash warned as he tried to see if he could find Vaporeon down there. "I can't seem to find her..." Daisy smiled as she had a proper advantage.

"Surprise attack with Water Pulse!" Vaporeon heard from underwater as she jumped up and launched the pulsing water, but she was not expecting Wartortle to jump at her and use Bite. The unexpectedness caught her off-guard, getting a critical hit off!

"Por!' Vaporeon landed on one of the platforms and looked at her opponent. Even with her excellent health, the Wartortle could deal good damage with his physical attacks.

"Okay..." Misty remarked as she saw how well Wartortle was doing, thinking that the match would end soon with the turtle as the victor.

"Use Aurora Beam!"

Ash knew to act quickly. "Use Rapid Spin to go through it!" Wartortle jumped through the rainbow beam, taking decent damage and getting his attack lowered. Wartortle pushed through and came with another critical hit, making the stat drop ineffective for that interaction.

Vaporeon was relatively weak as she could only take one attack, seeing that Wartortle was strong. "Take one more attack, Vaporeon," Daisy told her as she saw the weakened Water-type. "Can you do that?"

She nodded. "Vaporeon." She used another Water Gun to get some free damage in, but Wartortle wasn't having it. He used Protect and didn't feel the attack at all.

"Finish it off with one last Bite!"

"They're going to win!" Misty said excitingly, thinking this match was only one turn from being deemed over. Red and Brock were more skeptical. They analyzed the battle and how each opponent was acting, sensing that this wouldn't be the one to cause the faint.

"War!" Vaporeon did not move as she took on the Bite, thankfully this one not being a crit. Wartortle jumped back as he waited for Vaporeon to fall over and decide the match. However, the poor Water-type and his Trainer made a terrible error with this. In their confidence in this fainting, they ended up doing less damage than what was truly necessary.

Daisy smirked to herself as she snapped her fingers. "Use Flail, Vaporeon!"

Ash and Wartortle gasped at what move had just been called. She got there quickly and jumped at Wartortle, flailing aimlessly as her attack. Wartortle took extreme damage as this happened, fainting after that attack. All the damage that he had built up on Vaporeon, all the attacks and critical hits that he landed with his oldest partner. Everything that Wartortle did to get this far.

It was about to be his undoing.

"I can't believe I forgot about Flail." Ash kicked himself for letting this happen as he saw his fainted partner on the platform. "I'm sorry, Wartortle. You did so much for me." He ensured as he placed Wartortle back in the Poke Ball, knowing that he was going to get complained at when his partner was fully healed up. The crowd both went wild for Daisy and pitied the young boy.

"Oh no." Misty's voice was so low she was surprised that she heard herself. All the encouragement she had given to the boy she called friend now had the chance to lose his badge and her chance at getting closure.

Daisy sent a friendly smile to the boy. "I don't mean to rush you, but you must send a second Pokémon out."

"Vaporeon."

Ash had to send in his second Pokémon as he grabbed a Poke Ball, knowing this was the only girl that could finish this. "Everyone's watching..." He threw the Poke Ball with strength.

"Pidgey!" The little Flying-type said as she came out. She saw how batted her opponent was, knowing that Wartortle gave a good fight.

Ash was trying to think of what to do. If he didn't finish off Vaporeon in this turn, his loss was guaranteed. He needed to outspeed her with his Pidgey somehow, but he and Red came to the same conclusion as the seconds turned to dust. Vaporeon was the faster one here. Misty was biting her nail as everything was banking on this, Ryan bracing himself for the worst. Green had her mouth opened a little as Pyra brought her head down a bit, something that Jangmo-o also did. Ash gave a relaxed exhale as every idea came to him.

It then hit him.

"Use Quick Attack!" Pidgey did as she was told as she became a blur. The priority move went first and hit Vaporeon for the last of her health, finally bringing her down. Daisy had no useable Pokémon.

"DAISY WATERFLOWER NO LONGER HAS POKEMON TO BATTLE WITH!" Lily's declaration is what ended the match ultimately. "THE WINNER IS ASH KETCHUM OF PALLET TOWN!"

The noise was the crowd was unbelievable.

Everyone stood out of their seats and clapped as hard as they could, yelling until their voices gave a mighty crack. Our group was among the loudest, Misty letting out a tear of pure joy and excitement. Jangmo-o nodded as he saw that Ash could win this battle, using his knowledge to face what would've been a losing battle. Brock and Green yelled as Ash gave a full smile.

"ASH! ASH! ASH!" They chanted his name. Ash looked at all the praise around him as he couldn't believe people recognized him. Pidgey came to him and tackled him in the chest, the Flying-type getting close to her Trainer. Ash hugged back his Pokémon as he couldn't believe he had won.

"You're so strong, Daisy!" Daisy's fan still showed their support for the girl. The older girl gave a last sigh as she called back Vaporeon. Instead of yelling about how she lost or the promise she had to make now, she smiled softly.

She clapped her hands slowly for the boy that beat her. "Not bad, twerp. I can see why she stuck with you."

It was a great moment as nothing but joy went through the entire stadium. Ash gave everyone a big smile as Pidgey was on his shoulder, the Pokémon using her wings to give a slight bow to the audience. "You see this?" Ash happily questioned his partner. "They're cheering for you, girl."

Pidgey took the humble comment with a playful eye roll. "Pidg." She was done as Ash put her back in the Poke Ball.

"ASH!" Misty's yell got his attention, and he saw the girl jump over the railing and run to him. "That was great!"

Ash chuckled at how Misty was being. "I was just-"

Suddenly, Misty wrapped her arms around the boy in a gentle way.

Ash had no idea how to react as he saw what Misty was doing to him. The girl he had grown to know would've never done this. But she was, doing the exact thing with pure joy for her friend.

Misty opened her eyes quickly as she realized what she just did. She softly pushed herself away as she nervously chuckled. "Sorry. Don't know what came over me..."

Ash merely chuckled back. "I guess you were as excited as I was, huh?" The two smiled as they looked each other in the eyes. The world around them seemed to have stopped briefly as these friends shared this nice moment. All the emotions and words were written on their faces.

"Ash!" Green came running up to the boy; she picked him up, squeezing him tightly. "You did it! You won!" Green exclaimed as Pyra jumped onto the boy, clutching him with her much shorter stature. Red and Brock jumped over the railing.

Brock sent a parental smile to the younger boy. "That was great, Ash. You are doing well for such a young Trainer." He told the kid as he wanted him to be happy with this victory.

Red and Pikachu nodded as Ash looked at them, needing no words to express their happiness with what he had done. Ryan came last as he decided to take the stairs, Jangmo-o by his side. "You got yourself another badge!" He gave a mighty high-five to Ash, something he took without question.

"Mo-o!" Jangmo-o landed in Ash's hands, giving a warrior's bow for victory in this battle. Ash softly smiled as he gave a slight bow to the Dragon-type warrior.

"Hey, winner?" A sudden voice spoke up as Daisy walked up, sending a side smile to the kid as something was in her hand. "You've earned this." She threw something that went through the air.

Ash held Jangmo-o in one hand as he caught what Daisy threw. He and the Pokémon saw that it was the Cascade Badge. The boy examined it before smiling at the older sister. "Thanks'."

"You, like, earned it," Lily said as she got her seat and joined everyone. Jangmo-o jumped off Ash's hand to go back to Ryan. "Honestly, we probably would've given the badge to you anyway. You're, like, pretty good for a newbie."

"Oh. That reminds me, Ash." The boy turned to what Misty had just said. The moment he did, a mighty slap went across his face.

"OW!"

"Never do this again!" Misty threatened with pure anger. Ash gulped as he saw Misty was furious, a form that even sent fear into poor Jangmo-o and Nidoran. "If you try to bet your badges off again, I'll bet your hat off! Do you understand?!"

Ash quickly shook his head as Misty reverted to her usual self, the boy very shaken up by what he just went through. "We should consider ourselves lucky," Red whispered to Pikachu after the monster he had just caught a glimpse of.

"Pika." The Electric-type hastily nodded. The sister just merely laughed at how serious their little sister could be at times.

The crowd began to slowly leave one by one as everyone showed their support for Ash getting his second badge, putting it right by his first ever one. Red joked that he may not have beaten it with one Pokémon, but he got two victories without much trouble. Everyone seemed content as this match had concluded, the second starting in due time.

Daisy was walking through as Ryan ran up to her. "Hey! Daisy!"

"Hmm?" She turned to him as he went separate from the group. "Aren't you that Ryden kid?"

"It's Ryan." He corrected with a deadpan voice.

"Whoops. Sorry about that." She quickly apologized before looking at the kid. "So, what did you want?"

"Oh. Um, I-I was t-thinking about how cool it was when Ash f-fought you and how excited he was for the badge." He tried to speak with confidence as Daisy merely looked at him. "Jangmo-o i-is keep trying to convince me to battle m-more, and I-"

Daisy placed her hand in front to make the nervous boy quiet. "Okay. Just tell me what it is you want." She plainly demanded.

Ryan decided to straighten himself as he tried to say his wants in one sentence. He took a deep breath. "Do you think I'm good enough for Gym Badges?!" He quickly asked before closing his eyes nervously.

Instead of laughing at the idea, Daisy just raised her eyebrow. "Do you want to go for Gym Badges?"

Ryan took this as his cue to respond. "W-Well, everyone else is making this out to be this cool thing. I just thought it would be cool if I tried to go for it and maybe challenge the Pokémon League and stuff." He finished with a quivering voice.

"But you lack the confidence to go through with it?" Ryan said nothing as Daisy chuckled, seeing how scared the boy was about this. "Well, why don't you get a confidence boost?"

"Like what?"

Daisy took something out, and she held it with her fingers. "Maybe something like this. It's something many Trainer wish they could get their hands on."

Ryan saw the Cascade Badge in her hand as he stepped back, knowing this wasn't what he meant by earning badges. "Are you sure that I can just take that thing? Not having to fight or anything?"

"Go on, kid. Just take it." Daisy encouraged as she put the badge in his hand. Ryan started down at what was in his hand. "How many say they get one of the badges for free? You need something to give you one last push; let this be it."

She made a good argument as Ryan finally nodded, the badge weightless in his hand. 'Okay." He slowly nodded. "I'll take this."

"I can't imagine many people that wouldn't." Daisy pointed out as she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I've got some stuff to do. I hope your dream turns out well." She encouraged him as she left Ryan with the badge he didn't have to fight for.

Ryan looked at the badge, unsure what to make of this.

---

After Ash's battle and his victory had concluded, everyone was allowed a small break for thirty minutes as Green's match was about to be prepared. This left them a chance to take a break as Ash had to rush to the Pokémon Center, Misty accompanying him as he went. Ryan knew that Green needed all the help she could get, knowing how dangerous Misty's Starmie could be. They began to strategize as he tried to make Green understand.

This left Red and Brock to go on their own, wishing to know each other better.

"The sun's bright."

"Yeah," Brock said while considering good conversation topics. "It kind of does that sometimes."

The two tried to think of how to use this time properly as they sat at a bench near a lovely fountain with floor patterns circling it. Pikachu watched as they tried to think of something to say, hiding underneath the bench for shade as he wanted to get himself ready for nappy time. Brock was trying his hardest to make this not as awkward as possible.

"So..." Brock quickly saved himself as Red calmly turned to him. "That battle. I can't believe Ash would bet off his chance at getting a badge for Misty." He nervously chuckled after.

Red shrugged. "When you've known for as long as I have, it's hard to keep showing genuine shock. Although, this is one of the more extreme examples I could think of."

"Ash always told me you guys were friends when you were younger. Be honest, was he worse back then?"

"I don't like to talk about the past; it only distracts from now." Red sighed as he decided to answer the question. "He was more daring back then. Always wanting to waste his bottomless energy on something. For me, you could always find me under my favorite tree or the chair that I managed to steal from the other kids."

"You were that quiet kid that wouldn't want to talk to people?"

"Bingo," Red answered as he looked at the nice clouds above. "Now that I think about it, the only reason we did become friends is that they would always try to convince me to be a part of something, even if I didn't willingly pick it." He shook himself. "Why am I talking about this? I'm probably just boring you."

"No! Not at all." Brock ensured as he looked at Red from the sides. "I think that one should always take time to learn about their past, or other people's, to show how far they've come."

"But why? That time has long since gone by, with or without us being part of it."

Brock tried to counter Red's point. "Even if those events have become nothing more than scars, lines on a book, or something that one doesn't wish to look back on," He answered. "Those things still happened. Whether we recognize it or not, they still have that influence."

Red thought, wanting to ask one last question. "let's say I told you to look at the fountain." He pointed at the decoration spewing water, Brock looking at it. "What do you see first? The cracks in the stone? How each drop of water behaves? How do the very mechanics of it work?" He asked the fifteen-year-old. "Or do you just see a fountain?"

Brock tried his best to think of his definitive answer, not wanting to keep this conversation going out of minor annoyance. Pikachu stopped his attempt at napping after finding this conversation semi-interesting, somewhat curious about how Brock would answer this. Red stared blankly as he waited patiently, unintentionally making the older boy feel nervous. He took a deep breath.

"Those very cracks, that water, how it works is what makes it its unique fountain." Brock finally said after thinking long enough. "Think about art. That amazing painting or sketch all started from a line or shape, and all you did was add more detail. You made that simple thing into something people come to view." Red widened his eyes a bit, actually seeing Brock's point. "I am not saying that you have to pour all your focus on the past or what makes up every unique thing. But if we don't have a past, how are we supposed to have a future?"

Pikachu was awake as he heard that, taking Brock's word to heart. "Pikachu..."

Red couldn't find any way to counter that, let alone find a good answer to the last question. He softly smiled. "Alright. You have a fair point."

Brock returned the small smile. "Talking always helps me, that you are given a chance to put any thought to actual words." The older boy had an excellent idea for them. "If you want, we can get a quick something to eat. I think we have enough time."

"Pika!" Pikachu was immediately excited at the idea of food, jumping onto Red and climbing on his head.

Red gave a warm chuckle at seeing his little scamp. "Looks like my own Pokémon has forced my hand."

"Glad to see we all agree that my idea was for the best." Brock stood up as he signaled Red with his hand. "I don't get somewhere by just sitting around."

"People on planes and cars do it all the time."

This made Brock laugh. "Okay. That's fair." He admitted.

Pikachu was excitingly bouncing on Red's head as they tried to find somewhere to eat. Red twiddled with his fingers as he tried to build the confidence to speak up. "Hey, Brock," He began. "Could you tell me more about yourself? I-If that's okay?" He tried to remember his manner with the last part.

Brock just smiled, placing a comforting hand on Red's shoulder. "Since you did ask, I guess I can do it."

---

The time passed as the stadium filled up again, but this time the fighters were different. Green and Violet would fight in the same stadium that Ash and Daisy did. The young girl was on the plate as all that time with Ryan couldn't make a fantastic strategy, saying that she could if her Pokémon tried hard enough. Our group all huddled together as Pyra was sitting with them. Green had enough common sense to know she couldn't do much for this fight.

"Oh. I've never seen a match in the stands before!" Ash excitingly said, now feeling why the crowd would always be so hyped for these things. Pyra was sitting on his lap, as he knew him the best out of everyone here.

Jangmo-o happily bounced up and down on Ryan's lap. Seeing two matches to study from was a dream come true. "Are you just going to be like this all the time?"

"Jang!" Ryan sighed at how fighting and happy his Dragon-type was.

"Your Jangmo-o seems rather happy at the idea of fighting," Red observed as he thought about it. "Is he a Pokémon that searches for someone to battle?"

"All. The. Time." Ryan remembered how Jangmo-o tried to convince Starmie to battle him during their trip to this city. The Psychic-type dismissed it, not wanting to harm their comrade too severely.

Misty smiled as she saw Green down below. "I know Green's going to win this. I can feel it."

"She has the right Pokémon, but Starmie might be too much." Brock thought as he tried to think about how Green would do in this. "You never know; she could get a one-shot move twice in a row with Luna."

"That would be hilarious, but also no," Red remarked. Pikachu nodded at how funny that would be.

"Pika. Chu chu!" Daisy watched from the top as she used one of the screens to see how the fight would turn out.

"Like, good luck." She thought, glad she could concentrate in a place fan from the fans' reach.

Violet stepped out as the crowd cheered for the beautiful girl. She waved and blew air kisses to the masses, making some boys faint from their idol. The group kept going as Violet stepped onto the plate. "You saw the last battle. You know what the rules are and, like, what Pokémon I'll be using."

Green's face of resolve didn't falter. "We'll see if looks are all you have." She recited what Ash had told Daisy before their fight.

"Meleon!" Pyra was so happy at the comeback that Green was able to make. All those times of trying to convince the girl were finally showing themselves off.

"You got this, Green!" Ryan and Ash cheered as they knew that she could squeeze this win out like how Ash did, having a Pokémon that had the advantage against them. Also knowing what the move set was was also a big plus.

Lily came out, the crowd cheering once again, as she sat on her lifeguard seat, a megaphone in her hand. "The battle will begin in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1!" Everyone counted down again as she put the device on max volume. "FIGHT!"

"Go, Starmie!"

The powerful Psychic-type landed on one of the floating platforms, getting a cheer as they landed. "Star!" Their bright jewel shined in the light that hung above.

"You can do it, Luna!" Luna came out as she was a bit nervous at all the viewers but still tried to smile and wave to them. The crowd ate up the cuteness as she saw what her opponent was.

"What moves did she put again?" Violet tried to recall what moves Misty had told her about. Her memory quickly adjusted. "Use Confuse Ray!"

Starmie released a sinister-looking ray from their gem as it went straight for Luna. "Minimize, Luna!" Luna compressed her body to be only half the size of the usual Clefable to dodge. It worked as the ray completely missed Luna. "You're doing great!" Green's compliment made Luna smile as she moved her arms back and forth, calling upon her Metronome.

"There's the Metronome," Brock observed as he found Luna minimizing herself was an excellent way to dodge. Luna stopped her swinging as the move was picked from random. Suddenly, Luna tried to show her beauty as she blew a heart to Starmie. Starmie didn't react as the heart touched them, not doing anything.

Everyone went quiet as Red cringed at that. "Looks like our star didn't want a Sweet Kiss." His joke was meant with silence, Pikachu giving a very disappointed head shake. Red remained quiet after that.

"That was weird," Violet remarked as she got back into fighting. "Get Swifty, Starmie!"

"Mi!" Even though Starmie knew what attack to use, they hated how the command was ordered. Multiple small stars came out as they briefly hovered around them. He launched the inescapable projectiles as Luna saw what was coming.

"Go for another hand move!" Luna ran away and quickly shook her fingers, preparing the attack as the stars barraged her. She escaped with decent damage as her wings vibrated and released a damaging sound wave. Starmie was pushed back by how strong the Bug Buzz was, falling back into the water. The crowd was loud, and having her eyes closed made her lose track of her opponent.

Out on the side, Starmie emerged and shot a Psybeam at Luna. Luna didn't have to react as the pink beam hit her directly; her Minimize was not working in this scenario. She has almost been pushed off the platform. "Clefa."

"Use your voice!" Green told her Pokémon with pure passion. She used her high-pitched voice to release a pink ring that followed Starmie until it hit; not even going underwater could help the Water-type. Violet was worried, knowing Starmie didn't have much left to them. She knew that getting rid of Luna first was the main priority.

"Use Confuse Ray again." Starmie released the same ray, actually hitting this time. Luna became extremely dizzy as the world was moving on its own. "Are you okay?" Green worried question was met with confused muttering.

"She's confused," Brock said, knowing that Starmie might be able to win with this turn of events. "Looks like Viney is going to ha-"

Suddenly, Luna brought out a pinkish-red berry that she had been carrying with her. She managed to eat it, returning her vision to normal. "A Persim Berry?" Ash was surprised as he turned to Ryan. "Did you give her one of ours?"

"Yeah, I did," Ryan admitted as Jangmo-o watched the fight, getting increasingly excited. "That seems like the only advice I gave that she took."

Green bumped her fist as Violet sighed to herself. "That's right! We're going to win this for sure!" The crowd was still going on as Starmie decided to use another Swift, wanting to get more damage in. "Another one!" Luna nodded, knowing Minimize wouldn't help with this move.

She tried to move her fingers as quickly as possible, but this Swift was much faster than the previous one. Her concentration was broken as this allowed Starmie to use another attack. "Psybeam her!"

"Starmie!"

"Disarming Voice!" The two attacks were launched at their opponent, as only one was guaranteed to hit. The Minimize came in handy again as Luna could dodge just fine, Starmie not being so lucky. In fact, this move brought Starmie to their limit, Violet knowing full well what would happen. Starmie fell over as the line from their gem dimmed.

Starmie had fainted!

"Violet is down one Pokémon!" Lily's announcement made the crowd cheer, people praising the girl as Green didn't seem to care about all her new followers. Luna was quite timid as she took the praise as the best she could.

"CHAR! CHARMELEON!" Pyra was so excited that she almost fell into the next row, Ash's hands stopping her from falling off. Jangmo-o was equally enthusiastic at seeing a fainted opponent, but at least he wasn't trying to jump off his lap.

"I know you're excited, Pyra, but this fight isn't over yet," Brock told the Fire-type as he ended his clapping for Green.

Misty stopped her clapping as well as she thought about her Marill. "Marill isn't as strong as Starmie, but he could still turn this around. I'm calling it; he can tank a Metronome."

"Luna has taken decent damage. If she can't heal during the encounter with Marill, it must be left to Viney." Red analyzed as he was trying to use logic and reasoning for this. "Sleep Powder and such won't work on this battlefield, and Viney doesn't have much to get across the platforms. Hmm? What do you think, bud?"

"Pika. Pikachu chu pika pika." Pikachu gave his response, making Red nod as he decided to let the match play out.

Violet sent out Marill, who was at level 21, as the cute Water-type made everyone fall for him, Marill taking all the praise as if it was nothing. "Marill." Marill was kind to Luna, telling her good luck as he quickly got into his determined self.

"I think Misty put decent moves on this Pokémon," Violet told herself as she remembered these after a few seconds. "Use Slam!"

"Mari! Mari!" Marill happily bounced from platform to platform as Luna took the time for another Minimize, making her body even more minuscule. The Fairy-type didn't even need to do this, as Marill accidentally missed the powerful hit with his tail, leaving him open for attack.

"Metronome!"

Luna nodded. "Clefabale. Clefable." She moved her fingers once more as the move was picked. Luna got lucky as a quick jolt of electricity was shot out of her. Marill smiled to himself at seeing the Shock Wave incoming.

"Use Bounce!" Marill used his massive stomach to bunch high into the air, successfully avoiding the otherwise target-seeking attack. Luna could only see a shadow high above as it slowly descended. Marill landed on Luna, almost splitting their platform in half as the crowd cheered. Marill bounced away as he stood proudly.

"Marill!"

"Oh. That was smart of Marill." Red admitted as he looked at what transpired. Luna slowly got up as she knew that healing would have to be in order. However, Violet knew to take out the Fairy-type quickly.

"Finish this off with Aqua Tail!" Marill's tail was coated in water as he leaped, swinging the thing like an uncontrollable wave. Luna didn't have much fight left, knowing that Life Dew might be unable to help.

"Don't give up, Luna!" Green told her Pokémon as she had faith in her. "Show this jerk how strong you are!"

This made Luna nod, knowing to get some damage before this. She pulled off her least Metronome, calling upon a green ball of grassy energy. She used all her strength to hurl it at Marill, who knew he would have to take on the Energy Ball. The strong Grass-type move hit, causing massive damage to poor Marill.

"ILL!" Marill was able to endure and sent his mighty Aqua Tail at his opponent. Luna was sent back and landed near Green. Marill was breathing heavily as he saw Green bend down to her Pokémon.

"Clefa?" She asked her Trainer.

"Of course you did." Green's voice was laced with sadness as Luna was in her arms. "You challenged them, and I would've never asked for more. Thank you, Luna." Luna had unfortunately fainted, not hearing her Trainer's last sentence.

Everyone made a moment of silence for the cute, strong Luna, that gave it her all. "That Luna was something." Ryan reflected, Jangmo-o bowing slightly for the fallen comrade. Pikachu followed the example, Pyra cursing that it ended up like this.

"Luna put in plenty of effort," Brock assured them as he tried to think positively about this. "This fight is easily in Green's favor."

"Come on, Green!" Ash yelled Misty doing the same. "Don't give up now!"

Green looked on with courage, letting Luna get well-deserved rest as Viney came out. "Bellsprout." The way Green picked herself up brought the crowd's excitement back.

"The blue thing's weak! Use Sleep Powder!" Viney released the glittering powder into the air, covering the arena.

"Oh no. You don't." Violet calmly said, having this exact thing happen so many times. "Hide in the water, Marill."

Marill hid in the water while waiting until all the powder had dissipated from the service. He jumped out and was trying to surprise attack Viney from behind. To his shock, Viney predicted this kind of move and brought Vine Whip out. He lashed the vine out and attacked Marill, knocking him out of the air. The crowd was cheering at how Green could call out right there.

Red was pleasantly surprised. "Not bad. Baiting out the Sleep Powder so Viney could attack when he thought he was safe." He reviewed as the match was becoming something else. "I wonder if it was her idea or Ryan's planning that allowed such a thing to occur."

"Jang!" Jangmo-o tried to make his Trainer take the compliment, something Ryan had to do for his little monster. Red and Pikachu laughed at how the two acted toward one another.

"Pik! Pik! Pik!"

Marill tried to think of what to do now. He had taken too much damage to handle another Vine Whip, even if it was a weak one. He felt the Grass-type could handle one of his attacks, which would only cost him. He knew that all his friends were watching that Misty herself was watching this, and he didn't want to disappoint. Suddenly, an idea hit him like a truck.

"Marill," Violet was already about to take the loss. "Use yo- Hey! What are you doing!" Marill didn't obey as he bounced across again, knowing how to solve this. Viney gave a blank face as he was about to call on another Vine Whip to end this.

"Bell-"

Nobody expected Marill to suddenly glow white as he didn't stop jumping around. The main group was shocked as Misty couldn't believe her Maril would do this for something like this. Everyone took a moment to be surprised before the excitement came out in an even grander quality.

"Azuma!" A new Pokémon had been released from the bright light.

Azumarill was a blue Pokémon that had an oval body. The lower half of his body was white with a white, bubble-like pattern above it. He had elongated, rabbit-like ears with red insides and circular eyes. His arms and feet were short with rounded ends. He had a black zigzagging tail with a blue, bubble-like tip.

Viney was stunned as Azumarill came and used Slam on him with his more extensive tail. Viney quickly snapped out of as he was luckily not paralyzed. He cleared his mind as he used Vine Whip to get good damage off. Azumarill was able to take the attack, a stark contrast to when he was just a Marill.

"He's pretty good," Violet said as she found the motivation to keep fighting. "Use Bounce!" Azumarill bounced into the air as he stayed up there for a bit, Green trying to work around this.

She snapped her fingers. "Viney, Use Stun Spore above you!" Viney decided to go with it as he released a paralyzing powder right above the platform he was on. Azumarill fell back down, having to drop through the powder. "Dodge!" Viney could move out of the way, avoiding the attack that would've ended the match.

Azumarill tried to jump back into the water to wash the powder off him, but it was too late. He had become paralyzed as the chance of victory was leaning back to Viney and Green, the former smiling to himself. "I can't believe it." Misty was surprised, never seeing a status condition from a move like that work on this battlefield. "She got the status condition off."

Ash slammed his fist into his open palm. "It's time for Green to finish this." Pyra nodded, knowing this fight was as good as over.

"Char!"

Azumarill stood his ground as he saw the powerful Vine Whip approaching him, knowing he had done everything he could to avoid this. Violet stopped ordering commands, not like Azumarill would listen at this point. Viney used all his power to send a mighty vine across the Water-type's chest. He landed a critical hit!

Azumarill had fainted from the attack as he landed with spiraled eyes, Violet having no other Pokémon to fight with.

"MY SISTER HAS NO POKEMON TO FIGHT WITH!" Lily yelled through the megaphone. "THE WINNER IS GREEN OF PALLET TOWN!"

The crowd erupted into a massive cheer as the match was officially declared over. Many people left their seats to cheer, the main group among the many. Misty grabbed Ash by the shirt as she shook him uncontrollably in her frenzied excitement. Jangmo-o was bouncing up and down on Ryan's head as he took in all the knowledge from the battle, Ryan being proud as he cheered her name. Brock and Red silently nodded in support, Pyra crying tears of pride and happiness.

Violet called back Azumarill, sending a friendly smile to the girl. "Looks like beauty isn't all I need to work on." She admitted as she struck a fancy pose, making the boys eat up her beautiful image.

"We love you, Violet!" They told the older girl as she gave a bow to the audience.

"That was great!" Green was cooing Viney as the girl was understandably happy. Her usual eleven had been cranked up to thirteen. It was a great moment as excitement and joy was all over, Daisy nodding as she watched from the top.

After everything had died down and most of the crowd had left, our group and Violet were the only people in the stadium. Violet winked at the girl as she handed over the Cascade Badge. "I think this one has your name on it." She playfully spoke as Green took the badge with both hands.

"Yes! Yes! Look at what I got!" She kissed the badge and happily smiled, Pyra fully supporting her Trainer. She placed it in a special case that she had since the beginning, placing it right next to Boulder Badge. "Thank you so much!"

"It's, like, no pro-BLEM!" Violet was not predicting Green to get her in her iconic hug, lifting the much older girl off the ground. "Wow! You're strong!"

"Come on, Green. Drop it." Red's order made Green childishly pout. "Drop the girl." She did as she was told, letting Violet get some well-needed oxygen.

"Thaks'." Violet cleared her throat. "Take the badge with honor, pride, and all that."

"Isn't it amazing, Ash?"

Ash chuckled. "Of course, it is. I have the same badge you got." This made Green sweat drop as she gave a small laugh.

"I think it's most comfortable saying that I played a part in her victory." Ryan tried to make himself more self-confident by saying this. "After all, wasn't that Persim Berry from my ideas?"

"I thought it was Pyra who suggested it."

Ryan became nervous at Green realizing the truth. "Well, I still gave the berry. How's that?!" Everyone laughed at how Ryan tried to make himself part of this, causing the boy to blush red in some new-found embarrassment.

Misty stopped her laughing as she realized that she needed to do a tiny thing before they made their way out. "Mind if I head out? I have something to do?"

Brock and Ash shrugged. "Don't act as if I'll stop you." The older boy replied.

Misty nodded before she had one last thing to tell them. "Hey, you two," Ash and Green quickly turned to her. "Congrats on not sucking today."

Ash chuckled. "What else were you expecting?"

"Consider it was you two, a lot." She sent a smile to them. "You two have become better, but you didn't hear that from me." They laughed as Misty ran off, getting the perfect gifts for the boy she wouldn't hesitate to call a friend.

"Let's go wait by the entrance." Brock's suggestion was met with no complaints as they all left the gym, completing the task they set for themselves when they reached here.

---

Misty was in her room as she sighed, looking at everything she had left behind. The soft but unstable bed. Her shelves filled with way too much orange and small toys. How the missing part of the wall from the time the massive mirror fell. Everything felt so new as she looked at it but familiar simultaneously.

She sighed as she looked around, the two TM's that she had in her hands. The gift she was going to give for Ash's Birthday. "Are you going to, like, keep staring at nothing?"

Misty turned to see that Daisy was at the doorway, in her regular clothes, with a slight smirk. "It's not nothing! Besides, I'm just thinking."

"You're using your head? That's so unlike you." The two were silent as Daisy knew what she had to say due to her promise. "...I guess I should say something."

"That would be great." Misty was a bit smug as she waited for her older sister to admit finally.

"I guess you're... decent enough," Daisy admitted. Misty wanted to complain about what she had just said but got the feeling that this was the best she would get. "Just kidding. It seems like you did raise your Pokémon right."

Misty wasn't expecting this fair amount of positivity but still took it with a smirk. "Yeah. I might even be better than you three."

"Don't push it."

"Okay. That's fair." Misty admitted before Daisy looked down at her, sending a kind smile.

"You know we love you. Right, Mist?"

Misty sighed. "Of course I do. I love you guys to death too." Misty looked away as she decided to be honest. To take what Ash had taught her. "It's just hard to tell sometimes, though. I know you care about me and that your taunting isn't from a negative place. I wish that you would make that more apparent."

To her surprise, Daisy hugged her. Misty had never had this happen to her by any of her siblings, and she was unsure how to react. "If you have problems or think people are hurting you, just tell us. You know we're the only ones allowed to tease you." This sentence made Misty feel content.

Misty wasn't sure what to do then, but she hugged her sister back. No longer was there any unhappiness between the two. It was now just two siblings sharing a nice moment. Misty felt relieved and calm as she held Daisy, forgetting how soft her touch was.

The two broke apart as Daisy smiled down, Misty smiling back. She saw what was in her little sister's hand. "TM's, huh? Are they for someone?"

"It's for Ash."

"You mean your boyfriend, right?" Daisy was back to her sassy ways.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Misty yelled back again. "It's just a gift I want to give him for his birthday and to congratulate him for defending my honor."

The older girl rolled her eyes. "Sure..." Misty gave a slight glare as Daisy walked away. "You, like, said you wanted to get your Magikarp and Horsea back. Aren't you going to do that?"

Misty realized that was one of the reasons why she came back, leaving with Daisy through the door as she flipped off the lights. "Do you think that you could have my Goldeen in return? She would probably be better off here."

"Like, sure thing." The two walked through the buildings as Daisy decided to ask one last question. "Be honest, and I do mean honest; what is your opinion on that Ash kid? It seems like you've been the one with him the longest?"

Misty took the time to think of her answer as she tried to reflect on their time together. "He can be really, really dumb. But he's one of the braver and more compassionate kids I've met. He cares, and he at least knows what he's doing. I guess he's... decent enough."

Daisy snorted. "I can't tell if your, like, messing with me, or is that your real answer."

"Maybe a bit of both." The two shared a small laugh as they made their way to where they kept Misty's Pokémon. They went into a room with a small pool, and they saw two Water-types messing around. "You two," Daisy spoke up. "Your Trainer is, like, here."

"Hor?" Horsea and Magikarp saw who it was and excitedly swam over. Horsea was a light blue, piscine Pokémon resembling a seahorse. She had red eyes, a long, tubular mouth, and three spike-like fins on either side of her head. Her single dorsal fin was cream-colored. She had a tightly curled tail under her. Magikarp was the same Pokémon that Ash encountered on Route 1.

Misty petted her two Pokémon as she saw how excited they were to see her. "Have you two been taken care of?" The two Water-types nodded.

"Karp. Karp." Magikarp pleasantly said.

Misty smiled at the two. "I know this may be abrupt, but would you two like to come with me on my journey?"

"Magikarp!" He was excited to see the outside again, hoping that he would reach his dream of being a mighty Gyarados. Horsea looked scared, not excited at being outside with all those wild Pokémon.

"Horsea..." She said with slight fright. Misty picked up the Water-type and held the Water-type.

"Don't worry. I promise you'll be okay. I wouldn't make you go if I knew you weren't ready." Horsea heard this and decided to continue, nodding after that confidence boost. The Pokémon took no issue as they were sent into their Poke Balls, now part of Misty's team. The girl took out Goldeen's Poke Ball as she brought her out.

Goldeen landed in the water as she looked around, confused. "Deen?"

"Hey, Goldeen. This is the place that I said where you would be now." Misty explained as she saw her Pokémon. "I know that may seem abrupt, but I didn't do this for no reason." She looked away for the briefest of moments. "I feel like I've been training you the wrong way. That I may not be the best Trainer for you."

"Gold." Goldeen had heard this before, accepting that they may not be compatible. Misty looked sadly at her Pokémon.

"I know that you'll have a great time here." She ensured. "Never forget, I still care about you. Even if we are split apart." Goldeen nodded as Misty placed a comforting hand on her, something the Pokémon took with a calm look. This moment could only last for so long.

Misty stood up and began to walk away. "Have a great time out there, Mist."

"Thanks'."

Daisy went up to the female Pokémon. "Don't worry. You'll get to live with the prettiest girls around."

"Deen." Suddenly, the Water-type began to glow brightly, making Daisy and Misty gasp as they stood back.

There was now a primarily orange and white, fish-like Pokémon. She had round, dark eyes, prominent pink lips, two small fangs, and a cream-colored horn in the center of the forehead. The horn was smaller. Most of the body was orange with a patch of white under the mouth and along her underside. There are several black markings on her body: two thick lines under each eye, a sizeable wavy patch on the back, and several speckles near the tail. She had billowed pectoral fins and tail fins shaped like butterfly wings; all white-specked with black.

"Seaking!"

Daisy shook herself out of her bewildered state. "Huh?" She shrugged as she saw the new Seaking swimming around, looking back at her sister. "Guess we have a new Pokémon to fight with. It looks like you can help out, Mist."

"But-I-I... y-you thtey?" Misty was so shocked that she couldn't even form sentences. The Pokémon she gave up somehow evolved fifteen levels earlier than it was supposed to. "But- GGold dee deen wwwdc? efe?"

"Sea?" The new Seaking asked.

"Don't worry, Seaking," Daisy assured the Water-type as she began to push Misty. "I'll make sure to get rid of the annoying distractions."

"DEEE Deen fefefe Go but S-sea?" Misty was like this the whole time as she was pushed out of the room.

---

Ash looked at his Cascade Badge with pride as he stood outside the gym, Red chuckling at how happy the boy was. "You going to keep gawking at that?"

Ash shrugged. "Maybe I'm clingy, but this marks a major step in my dream!" He said as he placed his new badge next to the Boulder Badge, making a great addition to the collection. "Just six more."

Pikachu was licking his ketchup before his ears tingled, looking to see that Ryan, Brock, Pyra, and Green came out of the gym, the Electric-type smiling at the Trainers. "Pika! Pika!"

"Congrats again on getting your badges, you two." Brock was speaking of Green and Ash with this. "It looks like everything worked out in the end."

Ryan looked at the sky, seeing how low the sun was now. "Do we have to leave tonight? We'll probably only travel for thirty minutes if we leave this second."

"We can stay the night here. Red knows a motel that we can stay at."

Green gasped after hearing what Brock said. "Can we have a slumber party?! We need to do one, now!"

"Of course, we can." Ash and Red didn't protest this idea, knowing how much it meant to her.

"I don't see why not," Ryan added. His second sentence was muttered under his breath. "Just find a room big enough to hold all of us."

"Let's do some quick shopping before we do that," Brock said as, even though he had the ingredients for the cake, he still wanted to give Ash a proper present. He then noticed the lack of someone. "Do you know where Misty went?"

"Uh... She something about herself or her sisters. I don't know. I'm not a family doctor." Green admitted as she tried to think. "I hope she'll join ou- Hey, there she is!"

"Char?"

Everyone turned to see Misty step out of the building. Ash was about to be friendly with her until he saw the gloomy expression. "Are you alright?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Was Misty's simple response.

Ryan didn't care about the warning. "Family issue?"

"Surprisingly, no." Misty truthfully said as she wanted to tell it to her friends, but all that came out was small groans. "Ohhh. It's so painful to think about."

"Then simply don't think about it."

Misty gave some stink eye after what Brock told her. "Wow. Excellent advice." Sarcasm coated the sentence.

Brock just smiled. "I try." A great idea came to him. "Would anyone care for some of my food tonight?" He didn't let them answer before chuckling. "What am I asking? Of course, you little Ratata's want something to eat."

"Hmm. Is his food any good?" Red asked Misty.

"It's decent. Nothing spectacular, but I'm glad to eat actual food."

"Pi. Pi." Pikachu was desperate for food, as he discarded his ketchup after it was empty, leaving Red to clean up for him. Oh, how he wished that the boy's food tasted better.

"It looks like I have no choice."

Green gave a massive hug, something that Red was pretty numb to. "Slumber party. Slumber party. Slumber party." She chanted.

"Charmel. Charmel. Charmel." Pyra chanted with her Trainer.

Ash smiled as he saw how all his friends were. "Alright. Let's get a move on everyone."

"The last one, there is a rotten Exeggcute!" Ryan yelled out. Almost everyone was about to start running.

"Hold up!" Out of the building came Daisy, Violet, and Lily as they made the group stop. Lily walked up to ruffle Misty's hair. "Did you think you would leave without, like, saying bye?"

"I was hoping on it." Misty joked.

Daisy smiled. "We love you; I don't want you ever to forget that." She told her younger sister in a still snarky way. "You have our respect; now you just keep it up."

Misty smirked back. "I thought you were going to give me a challenge."

Lily hugged her sister, something Misty took with a soft smile. "Don't let this journey change you, alright? I don't know what I'd do if you didn't stay our annoying sister."

"I'll show you. When I finish the journey across all of Kanto, I'll be considered the less annoying sister!"

Daisy smiled. "You seem confident. Maybe you're, like, responsible enough for this." She took something out of her pocket.

In her hand was a small flip-phone with sleek chrome color and an 'S' logo in black on the top. The inside featured a small screen with a map of Kanto, texting, and a calling feature. Misty nearly fainted at what she saw. "I-Is that-"

"Our old Pokégear?" Daisy finished as she held it out. "No. It's now your Pokégear."

Misty took it with shaky hands as she opened it up, seeing how unique this small device was to her. "Thank you so much! I've always wanted one!"

"Duh. That's why we gave it to you." Lily chuckled at seeing how excited Misty was as her eyes were glued to the small screen. "You can call and text everywhere; just keep watch of the battery." Daisy handed the charger, a blue chord with a white box, to Misty. "You can even power this thing up with small Electric-type moves."

Misty smiled as she slowly looked at Pikachu. "Yes. You will do nicely." Pikachu shivered a bit as he turned away, knowing how mighty the wrath of a girl was. Red tried to remain calm as he gently patted his Pokémon.

"Well, see you around, Mist." Daisy waved off as the other two said their goodbyes as well. Misty said goodbye and looked at her new phone, wondering what she could do with this now.

Ash suddenly chuckled. "Mist."

Misty gave a hard look at the boy as she turned around. "Sorry, Ashie, but I found something more important than your comments."

"Is it the love from your family and how they respect you?" Brock was curious about how Misty would answer.

"No." Misty quickly shook herself. "I mean, yes. But-uh I... Hey, Green!" She tried to steer this conversation in a new direction. "Check out the radio feature on this thing!"

Green and Pyra listened as a nice jingle started to play. "It sounds cool! I bet those Pokégears are going to play movies one day!"

Ash ad Misty smiled at the idea. "I doubt phones would be able to do that." They suddenly realized that someone hadn't spoken up in some time. "Hey? Where's Ryan?"

They looked around and saw the kid running far away, taking this time to find the hotel and not be last. "You have got to be kidding me," Misty said as she saw the huge head start Ryan snuck in.

Red was swift as Pikachu jumped off and joined the fast boy in his attempts to catch up. Everyone scrambled as they all ran after Ryan and Red. Ash and Brock took the lead as Pyra was relatively fast, Green happily skipping across. Misty wasted her precious seconds putting the Pokégear and charger away before she ran like the wind.

Even with that bad start, Green would be the last one. Her sense of direction costed her.

---

It was now the next day, and the group had left Cerulean behind them. Everyone got their team healed much faster since Nurse Joy was no longer suffering from too many Pokémon. Green stayed with them until Ash's birthday happened, and Red also joined in on this. Having the quiet boy around was a bit out, but the group could tell that the boy wouldn't cause any problems.

They walked down the path with a somewhat cloudy sky above. "So, that Pikachu just likes to hang around?" Ryan asked as he wanted to get to know the boy better.

"Yes. I'm the only person that he seems to listen to." Pikachu was hanging out on his head as he tried to get a good nap, enjoying not being confined like the rest of the starters.

"Why is the tail shaped like that? Is that an attempt to be cool?"

"Pi?" Pikachu opened one eye as he saw what Ryan had said as a potential insult. Ryan quickly backed away before the mouse had the chance to shoot electricity at him, the Pokémon giving him a warning as he closed his eyes again.

"How is the lizard with the flame tail safer?" Ryan mentally asked as he saw Green happily cherish her Pyra. Brock was triple checking that he had everything he needed to make Ash a cake. The fifteen-year-old took that day more seriously than the person that day was for.

Up in the front was that said boy, Wartortle, and Misty by his side. Misty sighed as she felt the freest she had ever been. "It feels nice out. It almost feels like someone made me happy back in Cerulean."

Ash smirked at what Misty was implying. "I don't mean to brag, but I think I got a perfect idea of who it could be."

"Wartortle!" The Pokémon happily pointed to himself, making the two look down at him.

Misty decided to humor this. "You are right. This Water-type was kind and brave enough to defend me!" She picked up the Water-type and hugged him, something Wartortle took with glee. She quickly looked at Ash. "Oh. I guess you did something too."

"Wow. You can feel the thankfulness coming from this girl." He remarked to his partner as the Water-type was put back down.

"War."

"I am thankful. I don't know a lot of people that would do that." She admitted with a soft smile before that was replaced with seriousness. "Although, I don't know many people that would risk their chance at getting a Gym Badge essential for getting a shot at being Champion."

Ash sweat dropped. "Okay. Maybe not of my best ideas."

"I still think treating Pseudo-Legend like a friend was worse, but this one was really bad." Misty sighed as she looked at Ash. "We know you do it for us, but you can't throw yourself at everything. Especially when it could... cost you."

Ash shrugged it off. "Your right, but taking risks is just part of being a Pokémon Trainer." The look Misty gave him made him rethink his words. "I guess some risk might be too much."

"Just... It would help if you didn't get hurt. Both of you are my friends; you know that?" Ash nodded at the fact he knew. "There is a reason I still follow you, Ash. Playing the hero isn't something one person, or Pokémon, can comfortably do."

Ash gave a small gasp at Misty. "You... said my actual name."

"War?" Wartortle was confused before realizing that Misty didn't use 'Ashie' this time.

Misty was silent before smirking. "Yeah. I guess I did."

"I consider you my friend too... Mist!"

Misty turned as she was met with Ash's knowing smile. "Oh. Is that game we are now playing, Ashie?"

"You bet, Mist."

"Ashie!"

"Mist!"

"Ashie!"

"Mist!" The two kept going back and forth as Wartortle joined in the name-calling. Everyone stopped to see that the two members leading the way were clashing with each other over their nicknames. Red sweated dropped at how Ash could be this childish sometimes.

"Is this a regular thing?"

"It's more like a daily thing," Brock admitted as he sighed at seeing their antics. Pikachu had his face scrunched up as he opened his eyes to glare at the two Trainers, turning completely around to try and sleep better.

"Aww. Look, Pyra," She told her Pokémon. "Do you see what I see?"

Pyra looked at the squabbling trio as she knew Green was asking for something out of pocket but couldn't give anything as she shrugged her arms. "Char."

"Look at the bond between them." She cooed as everyone watched on. "Truly, they are happy with each other."

Everyone looked very confused as they looked weirdly at Green; even Red and Pyra seemed that the girl's craziness was a bit much for this scenario. Brock cleared his throat as he tried to process that. "Uh. I guess... happiness is a unique way to put this."

"Watch. See how their fire is only going to burn brighter."

"You mean like the fire on your skirt?" Green happily looked down to see nothing wrong with her skirt. She looked at Red as she saw the boy trying to get laughter from the group. "I-It was a joke, Green."

"That was supposed to be a joke?" Ryan inquired.

"Yeah. You know... like-um..." Red was left quiet as his humor fell flat. "How bad was it?"

"Don't worry," Brock wrapped an arm around the boy as she promised him something. "We can work on that humor of yours. And by that, I mean build a new one."

"I can work with that."

Green was excited for her other friend as she looked back at Misty and Ash. She saw a connection that was more than any friendship could just be. It was very small, but that does not mean it wasn't there. Everyone didn't seem to agree with this as she still held onto that idea, not caring how they saw her concept of those two together.

None of them realized just how right Green would one day be.

END OF CHAPTER 7

---

Finally, the seed for Ash x Misty had officially been planted. This is something I have wanted to do from the start since Ash deserves one already. I know I made all those Serena fans mad, but oh well (The anger from your reviews will only make me stronger). This Ash never destroyed Misty's bike, and she has no reason to hate him, actually growing to like him due to his personality and intellect. They will still have their moments, though, and it will take a while before that ship can take off. I'll see you guys next time!

Edit 3/2/23: I can't believe I didn't take the chance for Ash to get a proper battle with actual Gym Leaders! Now that I have fixed one mistake, that scene with Misty and Ash felt forced when I looked back through it. The next chapter will come out after I update chapter 8, and I feel like it's due time I did!

THANKS FOR READING!

Ash's Team: Wartortle (M), Pidgey (F), Nidoran (M)

Misty's Team: Starmie (N/G), Azumarill (M), Horsea (F), Magikarp (M)

Misty's Other Members: Seaking (F)

Ryan's Team: Pinsir (M), Butterfree (M), Jangmo-o (M)

Brock's Team: Geodude (M), Onix (M), Zubat (M)