Surmount

by HDK315

Although they travel down a long, merciless road that has overwhelmed all but the very strongest to eventually throw in the towel, they do so with unrivaled resolve and convictions. This is the story of Ash Ketchum and his beloved family of Pokemon, and how they became the greatest of all time. Cover by Atenburgh.

14. Emboldened

"Cheers to the victors!"

As Ash and Misty's drinks tapped together in the Pokemon Center's cafeteria, the hot-headed water specialist didn't care how many eyes her shamelessly loud voice attracted, and at the current moment, Ash couldn't bring himself to blame her.

After all, two trainers celebrating a mutual victory at a Gym was perfectly normal, right?

Ash's narrow victory against Daisy had been succeeded by Misty's battle with Lily, which had been equally brutal. Much like Ash's own team, Misty's Pokemon were all in need of immediate medical care by the time the match was over.

There had been notable back and forth throughout the battle, which had certainly been a struggle, but in the end, a decisive Thunderbolt from Misty's Staryu, dealt to Lily's Sealeo, had ended the match with the orange-haired girl joyously victorious.

After Misty had received her Cascade Badge (as well as her own Scald TM), the two friends had headed back to the Pokemon Center, and were informed by Nurse Joy that their respective teams were recommended to spend the day (and possibly night) resting in the Center's care.

Now that both trainers knew that their Pokemon were all in good hands, they finally felt comfortable enough to stop holding back the excitement in their veins from their respective victories at the Gym, and Ash found that the joy of earning a Gym badge was much more overwhelming (yet enjoyable) when you had somebody else to mutually share the feeling with. And Misty seemed to agree, as she had practically dragged the him away from the counter after Nurse Joy had left.

Feeling hungry, and wanting to celebrate, the two kids had made their way to the cafeteria to indulge themselves. Although not overly crowded, there was a decent amount of people in the cafeteria, but Ash and Misty both paid them no mind as they found a table of their own to get lost in their own, giddy world.

They also didn't particularly care that pretty much all of the food that they had picked out for themselves were not-so-healthy snacks and sweets. They'd earned it.

Tyrunt sat atop the table with his bowl, eating the meat that Ash had promised him (which they had picked up along the way back to the Pokemon Center). Ash noted that it felt a bit unusual having him as the only Pokemon present for a meal, but it didn't seem to bother the infant Royal Heir Pokemon too much.

The baby occasionally peeked in on Ash and Misty's conversation, but for the most part kept to himself, indulging in his food with joy.

Misty guzzled down her orange juice immediately after she and Ash toasted, a rather large glass that she completely drank in a single sitting. Ash had a bit of an amused grin on his face as he watched his friend's antics, but in the mood that he was in, amusement was the only emotion that he could get from Misty's behavior.

After all, he was just as excited as she was.

Setting her glass down hard on the table, Misty licked the juice off of her lips and sighed in satisfaction before leaning forward and giving Ash a thumbs up.

"You saw what Prinplup did to that Seadra, didn't you?!" she was still high on excitement. "That poor boy's power practically meant nothing after we figured out his pattern. And the look on Lily's face was the best part!" She proceeded to mimic her sister's pout in the most exaggerated manner possible, and Ash didn't even care that the impression probably wasn't authentic.

Any other day, he may have felt a little bit bewildered by Misty's behavior, or just tried to shrug it off, but today, he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"I mean, I couldn't see her reaction for myself since her back was to me, but I'll take your word for it." he declared, drinking his own orange juice more modestly than his hyperactive friend. Setting his drink down, he nodded at her with a smile. "Call me crazy, but I think Staryu and Prinplup were swimming around even better than her team was. Prinplup's movements felt a lot more fluid than Seadra's did." Misty had won the battle by the skin of her teeth, much like Ash had himself, but despite the struggle, that was one notable advantage that Ash could have sworn that he had picked up on from the battle. No doubt their training at the pond had come with absurd benefits.

The smirk on Misty's face honestly surpassed anything that Ash had ever seen from Gary, the young girl leaning the side of her chin against the palm of her hand as her eyes twinkled with ego.

"Yes, dear boy, please praise me some more. I know I'm incredible." Her smugness settled down for a second as she took a bite out of a cinnamon roll on her tray, wiping the icing off her face with a napkin before eying Ash with an acknowledging nod. "Although, I gotta say, I was pretty stoked about how you ended your battle. You turned what should have been Daisy's home field advantage into that Seel's own personal Hell."

Ash bashfully rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle at the compliment. "Heh, yeah. I needed to end it as quickly as possible since Nebula was already tired and wounded, and the way we used Whirlwind on the waters against Mantyke had me thinking." his face turned red. "I'll admit, I was so frustrated by how much Daisy and her team's abilities kept using the pool against us, that it felt kind of nice to give her a taste of her own medicine." Ash almost felt shame in admitting that. Getting catharsis from such a thing almost made him feel like he was being petty, but he tried to convince himself that it was just pragmatism. As long as he didn't cross any moral boundaries (and the fundamentally brutal nature of Pokemon battles made that a pretty difficult thing to do), the majority of the strategies that he or any other trainer used would be considered justified, and not at all anything to be ashamed of.

Misty tilted her head teasingly, eying Ash with what almost felt to him like a sense of sadistic respect. "Hmph, and here I thought you were some sort of softy, but look at you, getting sweet revenge on that sister of mine." she giggled through her hand. "And you saw her reaction when the battle was over, right? Priceless. I should have recorded that so I could play it in front of her every time we see each other."

Ash rolled his eyes at that. He couldn't even say that it wasn't something he'd expect Misty to do.

"Sounds like a fun family reunion." he jabbed.

Misty shrugged. "Gotta give myself a reason to look forward to those, right?" she glanced over to Tyrunt, who was nearly finished with his bowl, but still mostly off in his own world. "So, you think he'll end up wanting to battle soon? He was pretty concerned whenever one of your teammates lost, but he really did seem to enjoy the match itself. He might even want to start now, for all you know."

Ash nodded in Tyrunt's direction, smiling fondly at the baby. "Maybe… but I should still wait with him regardless. Pokemon can start training pretty young, but I still think he could use at least a little bit more time. And even then, I'm not entirely sure when he'd be ready to start a real battle." he rested his chin in his palm as he began to think. "The area around Cerulean would be perfect for him, but that's only assuming I start training him right away."

Ash knew that Cerulean was often labeled as a hotspot for rookie Pokemon trainers. Almost like a safe haven, in comparison to areas like Fuschia and Blackthorn that were often favored by the much more experienced, veteran trainers, due to often being populated by more high-level, and dangerous, Pokemon. And like all of the major cities, Cerulean often hosted a fair amount of trainers throughout the Season, and the surrounding areas around the city were often filled up with the beginner trainers honing their skills, both amongst themselves and each other. Regardless of whether or not Tyrunt started training right away (as Ash was reluctant to be hasty in that regard), the young boy could certainly count on getting a good number of battles in with the trainers in the area after he left the city, which would be a good way to get more money if he was able to win enough battles, not to mention acquiring a great deal of battle experience for his team in a friendly environment. The perfect chance for them to hone their skills and practice new techniques against other trainers. He was considering potentially holding off on purchasing any more TMs until after he reached Saffron, the next city on Kanto's map, just so he could have a chance to make more money and be more financially comfortable with himself. But that didn't mean that he and his team couldn't learn any more new Moves at all, or, at the very least, further perfect the ones that they already did know.

Misty shrugged at that. "Eh, your call. Speaking of which, when do you plan to leave? I know we're parting ways after this, so I was just curious." The look in her eyes seemed mildly disappointed at that notion, although not overly so. No doubt she likely had her own schedule planned out. It wasn't entirely uncommon for multiple trainers to travel together, even for a lengthy amount of time, whether it be because they were friends or simply because they all had the same set path for the next segment of their adventure. Nevertheless, those situations would often run their natural course, as the trainers would inevitably split up and go their separate ways once their respective plans no longer aligned. It was just one of the many aspects of being a trainer, and traveling in general.

Ash had to admit that he was a bit disappointed too. For all of her hot-blooded arrogance, and sometimes outright scary demeanor, he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed Misty's company. It almost confused him, as she seemed exactly like the kind of person that he could never bring himself to like. Her hot temper, arrogance to the point of occasional narcissism, and her obnoxiously loud, and overly energetic demeanor being the polar opposite of his usual attempts to remain laid back and relatively quiet, when all paired up together in one, single package, could have, and should have been a recipe for disaster.

And yet here he was, goofing off and eating sweets with her, as though they had been friends for two months rather than less than two weeks.

Pokemon aside, Misty had been the biggest surprise of his journey so far, and he was grateful for that. But all good things must come to an end, and it was a mutual understanding that both friends had silently accepted amongst each other.

Finishing up his slice of coffee cake, and washing it down with the rest of his orange juice, Ash wiped his mouth with his napkin thoughtfully.

"Nurse Joy said our teams should be better by morning." he recalled, settling down a bit as he thought over his plans. "I'll probably stay here for a few more days before leaving. It'll take a bit longer to get to Saffron than it did to get from Mt. Moon to here, but I'll make sure I'm stocked up first. You?"

Misty nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm planning to stay here for about another week. Just to train while staying in the same place. Not in too much of a rush as long as I still improve."

Ash nodded in understanding. Every trainer traveled at their own pace, in addition to often going down completely different routes whenever the pathways were to split up. No two journeys were truly alike, with rare exceptions. And despite the sheer size of the Region, it was perfectly feasible to travel around Kanto in enough time to acquire all of the necessary badges for the Conference even if you weren't going at full speed. The Season was always nearly a year long, after all.

Although, Ash supposed that Misty could also be planning to go to Johto for a portion of the necessary badges, but he supposed that that was a different topic.

Misty leaned back in her seat, eying her plate a bit as she finished her cinnamon roll. "So," she began while wiping her napkin against her face again. "You have anything special planned for tomorrow? I was going to take a rest day, since it'll be coming right after the Gym. Was thinking of seeing if Maria and Laura were available. Not sure what we'd be doing, though." she admitted. "You're welcome to tag along if you've got nothing else to do. They told me they like you."

Ash couldn't help the small smile. "I was planning on taking it easy, too. Sure, thanks."

A noise from Tyrunt got their attention, and the two trainers giggled as they turned to see the infant dinosaur curling up on the table to go to sleep. His bowl was picked clean, and no doubt he was tired.

Misty smirked good-naturedly. "I suppose that might be our cue to wrap things up here." the water specialist stated matter-of-factly as the royal heir Pokemon's eyes closed.

Ash nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah."

/

The rest of the day hadn't been overwhelmingly eventful. The rush of a victory at a Gym was certainly exciting and enjoyable, but it would die down eventually. With Tyrunt taking a nap at his spot next to Ash's bed, Ash and Misty chose to spend most of the remaining day in their room, watching TV together while having the occasional, brief conversation. Thankfully, a Pokemon Contest was being aired in Violet City, so it didn't take too much time for them to find something to watch.

To be on the safe side, the two had chosen to leave the rest of their teams with Nurse Joy for the night, which led to Tyrunt still being their only company for dinner that night. The young dinosaur seemed to miss having the rest of the team around (especially Valiant), but Ash had assured him that everyone else will be back tomorrow.

Just before dinner, Misty had contacted both Laura and Maria's homes to make arrangements for the next day. Laura had promised to meet up with her and Ash at the Pokemon Center in the morning, while Maria was planning to visit Ryan in the lab.

Which brought them to the next morning, Valiant and Tyrunt standing by Ash's side with Pikachu perched on the boy's shoulder as Misty and Laura pointed out the Cerulean Pokemon Laboratory up ahead.

"Here we are." Laura announced out loud as Ash took in the building. "This is where Ryan works."

Although Professor Oak's own laboratory was the main one in Kanto, and Indigo as a whole, it was far from the only one the League had throughout their empire. Each major city and town had one to head their respective branch of the League's research field. Each run by their own Professor.

Systematically speaking, they served the same purpose as Professor Oak's own laboratory back in Pallet Town, from handing out starter Pokemon to conducting whatever research projects the League needed of them. Given that he was the leader of Indigo's research field, the labs of each town and city answered directly under Professor Oak, who oversaw everything as something of an overarching supervisor. However, since Indigo's empire consisted of multiple Region's, Johto and the Orange Islands each had their own leading Professor, Johto's being Professor Elm and the Orange Islands' being Professor Ivy. Both professors oversaw their own respective Regions themselves, still answering directly to Professor Oak, but otherwise having the same, general authority over the research in their own Regions that he himself did in Kanto.

Ash was somewhat surprised to see that Cerulean's lab was actually of a similar size to that of Pallet Town's. Despite Cerulean City being a far bigger area than Pallet could ever dream, Ash had the expectation that Oak's lab being the main one would guarantee it the greater size (and indeed, Pallet Town's lab was quite massive). But Ash supposed whatever necessities Oak's lab had were identical to that of the other labs in Indigo.

Staryu was walking by Misty's side, Misty apparently having it out so that it could revisit the lab. It had been born here, after all, so Ash supposed it made sense.

As Misty led the way down the sidewalk to reach the lab, the group passing through the gates, Laura hummed a bit absentmindedly as she patted Ash's shoulder to get the boy's attention. Pikachu shot her a grin, still a pretty big fan of the girl, which she returned.

"I bet you've been to Professor Oak's lab a ton of times, right? Is this any newer to you than it is to us?"

Ash lightly chuckled at that. He supposed Misty and Laura must have been really used to this place, if they had a friend whose brother worked here.

"My mom works for him." he answered with a nod. "So I know him pretty well. Wouldn't say we're inseparable or anything, but I suppose I know him more than most would."

It truly was surreal to be brought up in the same town that the one and only Professor Oak himself had chosen to make into his headquarters. Especially given just how simplistic and unimpressive Pallet Town was compared to the rest of Indigo's world otherwise. To live in such a plain, unassuming place, yet have one of the world's greatest minds living within walking distance of your own home…

Embarrassingly, Ash often found himself taking it for granted. He had no idea how he could grow used to sharing a town with the professor, but miraculously he had. It almost felt disrespectful to such an important man, and yet perhaps it was exemplary of just how well Professor Oak was able to fit into Pallet Town's modest society despite his larger-than-life reputation.

Laura folded her hands behind her head. "Hmm… that makes sense. We come here fairly often, since Maria visits her brother at least a few times a month." leaning forward, she gave the boy a cheeky grin. "Although, if you ask me, it seems like she's just trying to stock up on as much info as possible before her career starts."

"Which would be pretty helpful if literally anybody on the planet was capable of following the speed of her questions." Misty snarkily interjected as the group approached the large, automatic doors. As the glass doors opened, they stepped inside and Ash examined the lobby.

Although it had an entirely different layout from Oak's own lobby, it was still just about what Ash would have expected, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The room was very large and spacious, a large reception desk on one end, and a large flatscreen TV on the wall in another part of the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all a clean, pure white.

The atmosphere of the room was immediately comforting, with a perfect temperature and a radio playing music throughout the lobby.

Misty and Laura waved as Maria dashed over to them, her auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail, and copper eyes blazing with cheer. Grookey was perched on her shoulder, although Ryan was nowhere to be seen.

To Laura's visible amusement (and, to Ash's greatest shame, his own as well), Misty was nearly bowled over as Maria crashed into her (Grookey had leapt off of her shoulder just before the impact) and embraced her hotheaded friend, lightly jumping up and down as she began speaking, running her mouth just as rapidly as Ash had remembered from the last time that he had seen her.

"Wow, Misty! Good job with your win did you get any TMs to go with the badge because I hear Gym Leaders hand those out too and what was it like using water types in a pool like that oh and which of your sisters did you battle I know they switch off on random and what kind of Pokemon did they use against you it must have been interesting to have water types battle each other in their natural element but did that make it more difficult or just more exciting-" Misty pushed the girl off of her just roughly enough to get some breathing room as her hands clamped over the energetic girl's mouth, and Ash heard Pikachu giggle next to his ear as Maria's muffled voice continued to ramble on from behind Misty's hands.

Sighing with an exasperated grin, Misty tried to maintain her patience as she kept her grip on her friend's mouth. "Sheesh, Maria, it's like you think asking everything at once will give you all of the answers at once. I'm sure Ash and I can talk to you guys about it while we're here, so settle down for now, alright?" at Maria's nod, the girl's muffled voice ceasing for the moment, Misty narrowed her eyes. "Is it safe to release you?" she inquired, acting as though removing her hands would let a Tyranitar loose on an unsuspecting village. Maria nodded with two thumbs up, which arguably made Misty even more ironically unsure as she slowly allowed her hands to leave the copper-eyed girl's mouth.

Catching her breath a bit, Maria grinned at Misty with a light nod. "Congratulations." turning to Ash, she flashed the boy a cute grin. "And you too!"

Ash smiled back at her and nodded. "Thanks, Maria. It… certainly wasn't easy."

"Wasn't easy." being a vast understatement as far as Ash was concerned. Daisy had done just about everything that she could have possibly done to ensure that she and her team took perfect advantage of their home field advantage. While watching TV together the previous day after the battle, Misty had theorized to Ash that both Seaking and Mantyke most likely had the Swift Swim ability, and that Daisy had probably handpicked a team of Pokemon who's abilities were incredibly useful in the pool. The blonde woman had certainly taken advantage of them, with how she and Mantyke had utilized a variation of Tailwind that allowed them to transfer Mantyke's own aquatic boost of speed into the air. Although Lily hadn't done quite the same thing, she had certainly utilized the pool in her own, equally effective ways. The three sisters had all likely based their fighting styles around taking advantage of the specific arena of their Gym, testing any challenging trainers to adapt to such tactics.

The boy felt a light nudge from Laura's elbow, a teasing grin greeting his eyes as he turned to her.

"Betcha you were pretty floored to find out who the Gym Leaders were." a mischievous twinkle sparked in her eyes as she raised her eyebrows suggestively. Misty groaned at the comment, her face turning red.

"Yes, I'm sure we can all get a good laugh out of that." The water specialist spoke in the most bluntly dismissive tone that she could muster. Clearly she wasn't planning to giggle.

Maria frowned, her tone of voice understanding as Grookey made his way back up to her shoulder, quickly offering Ash a wave that the boy returned.

"Come on, Misty. I know you guys don't get along, but I'm sure you're at least happy that you won, right? It's not like your visit was for nothing."

"Of course I'm glad." Misty snapped a bit lightly, her face suddenly reddening a bit more at the realization of her tone, before shaking her head apologetically. "Just wasn't really something I was overly looking forward to, apart from the win, obviously." she shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. Ash and I were in and out as planned."

Laura clasped her hands together and shot the hothead a friendly grin. "Well then, why don't you and Ash tell us about the good part of your little escapade? We've never had the honor of seeing a Gym battle before."

Misty rolled her eyes at that, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Where do you guys wanna go?" she looked between her friends quizzically. Ash just shrugged at that. He knew nothing about this lab.

Maria pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Ryan's in the lounge, actually. Been a bit of a slow day since the professor has been busy with something else, so he has some time for us."

"Good a place as any." said Laura matter-of-factly, looking between Ash and Misty for confirmation. Neither objected.

/

The lounge was fairly spacious and comfortable. A few of the lab's workers were in the room as well, but kept to themselves as the kids sat at a table off to the side with Ryan. The chair's had comfy cushions that Ash enjoyed feeling his body sink into. Near the table, Tyrunt had found a separate cushion to go to sleep on, while Valiant sat nearby to watch him. Staryu elected to join the Kirlia.

Sitting across from Ash (who sat in between Misty and Laura), Ryan stroked the top of Grookey's head as the grass type sat in his lap, nodding approvingly as Ash finished recounting his battle with Daisy. Misty had allowed him to go first, although, knowing her, he suspected that it was just because she probably viewed her battle as the "better" one.

"I helped raise that Poliwhirl." the older boy revealed as Ash sat back in his seat. "Violet requested for him to join their roster at the Gym after finding out that he had Water Absorb. On purpose, no doubt. Their mission statement has always been to make dealing with their aquatic advantage as bad for their challengers as possible."

Ash grimaced at that. It basically confirmed what he already suspected. No surprises there, he supposed. It was part of a Gym Leader's job to test all of the challengers, after all. This was just the test that Misty's sisters had chosen to lay out.

Ryan shot Valiant a thoughtful look as the young Kirlia seemed to be conversing with Staryu. "Your Kirlia's pretty ahead of the game, from the sound of it. From the strategic sense, anyway. Seems like he has a knack for thinking on his feet."

Ash grinned proudly at that, looking over to his Psychic partner. "He's always been that way." the boy responded, thinking back to Valiant's sparring session with Pikachu back in Pewter. "Ever since he started battling he seems to have always tried to approach battles in a calculated way. Not perfect, but none of us are right now. And he surprises even me sometimes. Like I said before, that tactic he used against Poliwhirl was all just him. I had nothing to do with coming up with it."

Ryan chuckled at that. "It's nothing unusual for a Pokemon to plan a fight on their own accord. Trainers are meant to guide them in battle, and train them outside of it, but Pokemon are all still their own fighters." his fingers stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But for a beginner-level pokemon to take that kind of initiative is pretty unusual. Especially given what he did. Trapping himself and Poliwhirl inside of a Light Screen so that Thunderbolt could be dealt point blank, with no escape. Obviously not the most efficient strategy, given the amount of self-inflicted harm that was involved with him forcing himself into the blast zone, but the fact that he would even think of such a combo in the first place… he's creative for a rookie."

Maria nodded enthusiastically at that, sitting next to her elder brother. She'd clearly been holding herself back from another hyperactive ramble for a while now, given the amount of restraint in her voice as she spoke.

"Fine-tune that a bit, and I wonder if it'd make a good looking Contest technique. Imagine a golden cube shining with electricity like that!" she paused for a second, seemingly making statements one at a time to prevent herself from going off on another tangent. "It would be hard to do it without the user hurting themselves, though…" she trailed off for a moment. "What do you think, Laura?"

Laura sat between Ash and Maria, Pikachu resting in her lap. Ash only felt a mild hint of jealousy at Pikachu wanting to sit with her, but didn't take it personally. The mouse was with him all the time, after all, and Laura seemed to know how to pet Pikachu (and show him affection in general) in just the right way to reduce him to a hopelessly infatuated state of bliss. The electric type was curled up into a ball, eyes closed and a content, purr-like noise escaping his throat as the brunette girl stroked his fur.

Laura chuckled at that. "Yeah, it is an interesting idea. Can't say I have any answers for it though, so sorry."

Sitting in between Ash and Ryan, Misty thoughtfully pressed her chin against her hand. "Hmm...Staryu knows both Moves… but it would obviously be even worse for a water type…"

Still stroking Pikachu, Laura looked over to Ash. "You shouldn't be sold short, either, you know. The way you and Nebula turned things around against Seel sounds pretty awesome."

Ash grinned back at her as she offered him a thumbs up. He had to admit, he was pretty proud of himself for that final strategy. "Thanks, Laura. I… sort of came up with that way to take out Mantyke in the moment, and… I realized I could apply it again, just on a bigger scope. The water actually worked to our advantage, that time.'' He supposed that Nebula's wind could have been problematic for Seel regardless, but it was also the constant waves that had prevented his Aurora Beam from hitting her and intercepting her Double-Edge.

Laura's grin turned sly. "You sure you want to be a Champion? You might make a good coordinator."

Ash's face reddened somewhat at that. Contests sounded fun, but… "I… might try a Contest out at some point, but I'm more into traditional training… Sorry."

Laura shrugged at that, and spoke encouragingly. "Eh, can't say you're doing a bad job. Bet your little display has Misty nervous." she shot her orange-haired friend a teasing grin.

Misty, however, waved it off. "Bah, you think too lowly of me. I guess that's my cue to tell you guys my story."

Ash had to admit that he enjoyed recounting his battles with others, especially since his and Misty's audiences consisted of two aspiring Coordinators (even if their careers hadn't started just yet) and a future researcher who could offer notable advice and commentary. It was one of many human interactions that you just couldn't quite get with Pokemon alone.

Although Ash had tried to remain neutral during his own story (admittedly getting a bit excited during certain climatic parts), Misty showed very little restraint, or professionalism when recounting her own battle. Apart from going out of her way to describe Lily's frustrated expressions, she would often speak bombastically during the more intense parts of the story, even using sound effects a couple of times. Based on the reactions that Maria, Laura, and Ryan gave, they were all perfectly used to this.

After Misty's story was finished, Maria brought up the Scald TMs that the two trainers had both received after their battles. Although Ash sadly didn't have any Pokemon that could use the Move at the moment, Misty had already distributed it to Staryu and Prinplup.

Ash felt a miniscule amount of envy at that, if only because Daisy's usage of the move had frustrated him so much that he was looking forward to trying it out for himself. He wasn't too concerned, however. He planned to get a water type at some point anyway (especially just in case he ever needed to battle in a pool again), and he assumed that most of them could learn Scald.

Eventually, the conversation reached Ash and Misty's future plans.

"So…" said Ryan, looking between the two trainers. "How long are you guys going to be staying here?"

"Ash said he'll be leaving a couple days from now." said Misty as Ash nodded. "I'll be here a bit longer than that."

"The next city is Saffron, right?" Laura brought up. "That's a pretty big step up from anywhere else you guys have been."

She wasn't exaggerating, and in fact, she might not have been doing it justice.

Saffron and Celadon were the largest cities in Kanto, Saffron being the biggest overall and Celadon having the largest population. They were both known for being the most upper-class territories in the Region, Saffron being the Region's central business district and Celadon not being very far behind in that department (Celadon overall having the most high-class society among the two).

But Saffron was also home to one of the most infamous Gym Leaders in Indigo, Sabrina. A master psychic specialist and one of the leading experts on the typing. She held the Marsh Badge, and would not be an easy obstacle to take down.

The level of fear that she promoted among trainers wasn't necessarily on par with that of LT. Surge, Koga, or Giovanni, but she had something that was equally important: Respect. Admiration among the trainer populace. She was very highly regarded for both her sophisticated aura and plethora of knowledge.

And Ash was headed to her city next…

He wondered if he should challenge her Gym once he arrived in the city. He wasn't sure how beginner-friendly her Gym was compared to Brock and the Cerulean sisters. He knew that Erika of Celadon was probably the last remaining Gym Leader in Kanto who was as lenient as they were. And if he did challenge the Saffron Gym, the worst that would happen is that he might lose, no different from any other Gym battle.

But Ash put that in the back of his mind, for now. He wouldn't be in Saffron for a decent bit.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, Saffron's the next one. Not sure where I'll go after that. There'll be a few options."

Ryan nodded. "That's right. Saffron is almost like a hub. You could go to Celadon from there, or Vermilion, or Lavender Town. And from both Vermilion and Lavender, you can get to Fuchsia."

Ash and Misty both smiled at that. Both of them were aware of the freedom of choice that awaited them once they got to Saffron.

"Yup," Misty chirped. "This is where things really start to open up more. Still not sure where I'm going to go from Saffron, yet. Celadon will take me in a bit of a different direction from the remaining major cities on Kanto's mainland, even if it's still not all that far from Saffron, but getting to Fuchsia is going to take a while, from Saffron, especially if I go to Lavender first instead of Vermillion."

Ryan got Ash's attention. "Speaking of taking a while, Ash, do you have a bike like Misty does?"

Misty froze up a bit at that, even more so after Ash gave her a quizzical look.

"You have a bike, Misty?" Ash certainly never saw her with one during their time together so far. He wasn't really sure how she could have one, given that she'd been on foot during their travels, and it's not like she could have had anywhere to put the bike.

Misty's face was red, and she was suddenly refusing to make eye contact with Ash, or anyone else, for that matter.

"I… uh… lost it."

Ash frowned. That explained it, then.

"Oh… um… sorry." not wanting to pry further, he turned back to Ryan. "I don't have one, but how could I? I'd have nowhere to put it."

Ryan furrowed his brow quizzically at that. "Nowhere to put it? What do you mean?"

Now Ash was confused. Wasn't it obvious? "I mean…" he trailed off, suddenly feeling everyone's eyes scrutinizing him as he looked between everybody else at the table. It was making him feel small. "I'd have to have it out at all times… and it won't do me any good if I ever encounter terrain that isn't bike friendly. Aren't the areas around Fuschia mountainous?"

Silence.

Ryan seemed like he was quickly picking up on something, almost as if he was slightly amused. Looking over to Laura, Ash saw an even more amused expression on her face as her eyes lit up with recognition. Misty looked at the boy with an indescribably judgmental expression, almost like she had just seen Ash get his entire team demolished by an infant Magikarp, and Maria seemed slightly bewildered as she gazed at him a bit.

Why were they… staring at him like this?

"Ummm… guys?" he asked, a bit bemused. "What is it?"

After a few more seconds of bewilderment from everybody at the table, including Ash himself, Maria finally chose to speak up.

"Ummm… Ash?" she asked with a nervous grin, scratching at her auburn ponytail for a few seconds. "You… um… do know that you can just store the bike in a Poke Ball... right…?"

The blank, wide-eyed look on Ash's face said it all as he stared at the normally hyperactive girl.

"...You can what?"

More silence. It was a few agonizing seconds, which almost felt like a year, before Laura probably broke the silence.

Laura took her hand off of Pikachu's fur. The young mouse had been lulled to sleep by her affections, a huge grin on his face as he slumbered in her lap without a care in the world.

"You… really didn't know?" she asked with increasing amusement as Ash awkwardly shook his head at her, cheeks gradually beginning to burn. Her slowly widening grin threatened to split her face in two as her hands lightly clasped her cheeks, which were tinted with the most miniscule shade of red. Her voice was a mild squeal. "Sweet merciful Mew Ash, you just got even cuter!"

Ash refused to look at anyone as he stared down at his feet, his cheeks threatening to catch fire. Was it possible for blushing to truly hurt? Because the heat that was rushing up to his face was painful.

Ryan awkwardly chuckled upon realizing what was going on. "Yeah, the League's educational board keeps forgetting to put that in the curriculum, I guess." he sent Ash an apologetic grin. "Sorry you had to learn about it this way, kid." he glanced awkwardly over to Laura, who was staring at Ash with the most blissfully joyful face imaginable. "Maybe… we should take it easy on him." the older boy suggested.

Laura barely shook her head as Ash felt the joyous gaze in her eyes bore a hole through him. "I can't. He's so cute. This is so great!"

"Do I need to pull your ear?" Misty threatened.

That got her to settle down, her hands falling back down to her lap, although her wide grin never shrunk down.

Maria gave Ash a sympathetic look as the young boy struggled to fight off his embarrassed blush. "Ummm… Ash? You can come back to us, now. We're not going to make fun of you or anything."

Deciding to trust her for now, Ash allowed himself to lift his head again, still struggling to make eye contact.

Ryan spoke up again after a few more seconds of silence. "It's a new feature," he explained. "A few years old. It'll let you take your bike with you and keep it in a Poke Ball for safekeeping." He looked between Ash and Misty. "Neither of you two have one right now, but it'd be a good investment. You can cover ground much faster, which also means you'll have more time to go off the beaten path and explore, without losing too much traveling time if you're trying to move in between the cities quickly. And Cerulean, of course, has a top of the line bike shop. Not quite like anywhere else in Kanto."

Laura nodded at that, finally turning her gaze away from Ash (much to the embarrassed boy's relief). "And the new models are pretty flexible and durable, can change into different gears and can actually withstand a lot of harsh terrain. I hear the Galar Region has the best bike technology around by far, but what you can get here is still perfect." she nodded over to Misty. "I'm pretty sure you had one of the less updated ones, right?"

Misty nodded. "Yeah, had it for a few years, even back when I wasn't big enough to comfortably ride it yet. I could use a new one now that I don't have my original one anymore. I can probably invest in a better one right now."

Maria turned her head to Ash and flashed him an innocent grin. "Well, Ash? What about it?"

Ash gazed at her for a bit before looking down towards the table, fingers pressed firmly against his chin as he slipped into thought.

It would be convenient, but…

"How much would it cost?" Ash asked, raising his head up towards Ryan. "Do you know? The newest model's gotta be expensive, and I was hoping to save up my money so that I can start purchasing more TMs in Saffron."

Ryan nodded in confirmation. "It isn't cheap, yeah. Although, I was gonna bring this up, but the store is having a three day sale tomorrow. An anniversary thing. You'll be able to get it for half price, even the newest model. Would still be a bit steep, but much more affordable."

Ash nodded at that. Even if it was still expensive, it would at least soften the blow. Plus, with just how useful that having a bike would be (especially if it was the most advanced model yet, at that), then the benefits would outweigh the downsides. Worst case scenario, he couldn't purchase as many TMs in Saffron, which he could make up for later.

"Thank you, Ryan." the older boy nodded at him, and Ash looked between everybody else. "And you guys too."

Maria waved it off, her chipper tone back in full swing. "Don't mention it, just trying to help a couple of buddies out. We can all go there tomorrow with you two. Ryan's still got work, but the rest of us."

"Tomorrow's my day off." Ryan said, his bewildered tone of voice suggesting that Maria should have already known this.

"Even better!" Maria's grin was wide and uncaring.

After a few seconds of much more comfortable silence, Laura glanced over to Misty, eyes narrowly ever-so-slightly.

"Hey, Misty…" her slightly questioning (and confused) tone caught the orange-haired girl's attention. "You knew about the feature, so how did you lose your bike? Couldn't you have just placed it in a Poke Ball?"

Misty froze up, her cheeks mildly tinted with red.

A few seconds later, Laura's grin was back, widening across her face as her hands shot back up to her cheeks, which were once again slightly red.

"You mean… you forgot?" she squealed even more loudly as Misty's face practically turned into a cherry. "Oooh myyy golly you are so cute!"

"Hey!" Misty shot up and pointed aggressively at her brunette friend. "I only forgot in the moment! I remembered after! And don't call me cute!"

"But why? You are SOOO adorable!"

Misty's eyes blazed like a Charizard's Blast Burn as the color of her face somehow turned even more cherry-like.

"First thing I do with my new bike is run you over with it if you don't drop it!"

"That might actually be worth it!"

"Don't try testing me Laura, cause you know I'll pass with flying colors!"

/

"A bit busy, but that was to be expected." said Misty as the group approached the store the following day.

The store was a decently sized building in the downtown section of Cerulean. The name "Miracle Cycle" read on the sign.

At the current moment, it was roughly 10:00 AM, the group arriving at the store when it opened in hopes of getting in before things got too busy. Understandably, they hadn't been the only ones who had that idea.

Only Tyrunt was out with Ash right now, although Misty had her Jigglypuff with her as well. Accompanying them were Maria, Laura, and Ryan, along with Grookey and Rockruff.

"Yeah," said Laura, gazing up at the sign, hands behind her head with Rockruff by her side. "Best we be in and out before it starts filling up." The group nodded at that, and began heading in after a few other customers.

Misty lagged behind a bit, looking back at a curious Ash as he approached her. Still not too familiar with the city, Ash had elected to let the others lead the way while he carried Tyrunt in his arms.

"Something up?" the boy tilted his head as he briefly stopped in front of his friend. Her arms were half-crossed, and for the briefest of moments, her gaze on him was intent, but that expression quickly vanished from her almost as soon as it had come. It was almost as if he had been seeing things.

Misty responded with a shake of the head. "No, just thinking about something. It can wait." she turned back around and made her way into the store.

Ash stared at the girl's back as he followed her. He had a feeling he knew what she was talking about, but decided to bite his tongue until the time came.

The inside of the store might have actually been even bigger than what the outward exterior of the building suggested. The ceiling was high above their heads, allowing for the numerous shelves of bikes to extend high into the air. These shelves were spread across the entire store, and bikes weren't the only products available. Pretty much any kind of equipment related to them was as well.

As most of the group walked off further into the store, Ash lagged behind to look around for a bit, taking in his surroundings. Tyrunt seemed to be pretty impressed by the sight, an intrigued moan escaping his throat as he observed the towering shelves of bikes.

A light tap on the shoulder from a finger brought his attention to Laura, who brought him and the young dinosaur back into the world with a light wave, Rockruff remaining at her side.

"Bicycles are understandably pretty popular with trainers." She spoke coolly. Ash flushed at the teasing, accusatory wink she sent his way. "You know, trainers who actually know how easy it is to store them."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you." Ash responded in a subdued tone, suddenly finding the ocean-blue floor to be the most fascinating part of the store.

A good natured giggle escaped the pretty brunette's throat, pretty much answering Ash's question.

"I mean, you don't blame me for finding it funny, do you? Cheer up." Her voice was fairly reassuring, not completely losing its teasing tone, but not being condescending about it either. As Ash returned his gaze to her, she gave him a thumbs up. "They've got plenty of bikes in stock, but I'm not sure how many of the latest model are in at the moment, so let's get going before they're all taken." Ash quickly nodded at that, following the brunette girl as she and Rockruff turned around.

A sigh escaped his throat. "I'm still embarrassed I didn't know."

Laura glanced back at him slightly, barely turning her head just enough to look at him as they continued through the store. "In all seriousness," she said, her friendly-natured grin still on her face, "Bikes are a pretty big example of the new feature's benefit. They're even planning on releasing a separate type of Poke Ball made specifically for storing items, likely for a lower price, that way trainers who just need new Poke Balls to store their items with won't have to pay as much."

That sounded like a pretty good idea. It seemed like the League was always looking for new ways to innovate, for the betterment of the training community.

The girl pointed forward. "They've always kept their latest models in this section here at the end. Colors are a bit limited for this one, but they usually add more variations later."

"I'm not too concerned about color." Ash admitted. Aesthetic was nice, but he was mostly just focused on the bike itself. A good looking bike still wouldn't do him that much without function.

/

Ash felt a peculiar mixture of excitement and dejection as he and his friends exited the store.

The good part? He and Misty had both gotten the latest model of bike, which was dubbed the "Indigo Miracle-S", along with fairly cheap (but still effective) helmets to go along with it. In Misty's case, she already had a helmet, but figured it would do good to have an extra one to swap between, just in case something happened to one of them.

The downside? He was pretty much broke now. He was confident that he had enough food and other necessities to get by until Saffron, but having a near empty account was not a good feeling. Even with the sale, the purchase of the new bike had eaten up nearly all of his money. It was fairly disheartening, to say the least.

Misty, being Misty, had slyly told her friend that he shouldn't have to worry about not having much money, shooting him a smirk as she talked about how easy it should be to make the money back through battles. Unless, of course, he just wasn't strong enough to win that many consecutive matches.

Not too long ago, Ash would have felt a bit uneasy at the accusation, but now, it actually felt encouraging to him, ironically. Almost like he had taken it as a challenge to prove Misty wrong with her condescending attitude, to actually win enough battles in order to make all of the money back.

And when Ash had smiled back at Misty and declared that he would do just that, winning enough battles to have himself swimming in money by the time that he reached Saffron, the orange-haired girl had temporarily blinked at him in surprise, before a (somewhat) more genuine smile crept its way onto her face.

Now, the group was standing outside of the city, Ash and Misty ready to break in their bikes at Ryan's suggestion. The teenaged boy had led them to a fairly even-grounded area that would be perfect for riding the bikes at.

Ash had found a helmet to match his cap, mostly, anyway. Strapping on his helmet, which was a mixture of red and white, he took out the Poke Ball that now held his new bicycle.

It would take a while getting used to knowing that these things could hold regular items.

Misty had poked fun at Ash for his lack of variety, but he liked the look. And even though Misty didn't have a cap of her own, she herself had still gotten a helmet that matched her bike in color.

The water specialist was wearing an aqua-blue helmet as she glanced over to her friend. "You ready?" she inquired, raising her own Poke Ball.

Ash nodded, the two trainers enlarging the sphere-shaped capsules and releasing their bicycle's in a flash of bright, white light.

Ash's was a perfect shade of crimson, with a sleek, sturdy design that could brave the elements and look sharp while doing so. In between the handlebars was a pad with buttons that allowed Ash to change between different sets of tires, designed for different terrains. That same pad allowed him to switch between gears, as well.

Certainly not as futuristic as the types of bikes that the Galar Region apparently had access to, but effective technology all the same. It would be great for traveling.

Misty's bike had the same design as Ash's, as it was the same model, but it was aqua-blue.

After looking over the vehicle with a satisfied smile, Misty mounted it, sitting firmly on the seat as she steadily gripped the handlebars. She nodded at Ash as he did the same.

The boy looked over to Tyrunt, who was standing off to the side with Grookey and Rockruff, waving in his trainer's direction. The small dinosaur quite liked the look of the bike, and no doubt would want to ride in it at some point too. Thankfully, Ash had gotten a basket to go along with the bike for free.

Ryan waved the two trainers off. "Have fun, you two. Take your time to enjoy it, there's no rush."

Ash and Misty nodded back as Maria and Laura offered them a quick wave, before both trainers started pedaling away down the path.

They didn't go too fast at first, remaining in third gear as they got used to the feel. Both had experienced riding bikes, but none that were as advanced as this model was.

Misty took a deep breath as the seabreeze filled her with satisfaction. Exhaling deeply, a large smile made its way to her face as she looked down the road they were traveling.

"Ah, never get tired of feeling this air again." she glanced over in Ash's direction, looking at her friend just long enough to ask. "Isn't Pallet Town also by the ocean? I doubt this is new for you?"

Ash spared her a glance before refocusing on the road. "It is, but it doesn't quite feel the same as this. Not sure why. Maybe I just got used to it and stopped noticing it."

A giggle was Misty's response. "I never stopped noticing it. I love everything about the sea. From the Pokemon living in it to how the air feels. I want to become the greatest water specialist to make a name for myself, but there's a reason that's the specific type that I chose."

Ash absentmindedly grinned at that. He doubted it was uncommon for a type specialist's preferences to be influenced by something like that. No doubt a lot of people who favored fighting types had an affinity for martial arts. And many who specialized in psychic types were, themselves, often interested in mysterious powers such as those.

Focusing on the road ahead, Ash felt the breeze of the wind against his face as he and Misty made their way down the path. The momentum of the bike was just right, the traversal of the road smooth with perfection. It was a feeling that he wanted to get used to. One that filled him with just enough excitement and adrenaline to feel intense and give him a rush of satisfaction, yet with enough comfort to put him at ease, allowing him to let down his guard and just enjoy the moment.

Terrifying memories of Mt. Moon, frustrating stress from Daisy's tactics, having to run into Gary back at the foot of Mt. Moon, the ever lingering homesickness that was always in the back of his head. He could forget it all, and just focus on the present moment.

"I'll admit," he stated after a few moments of comfortable silence. "I never really thought about typing, or which ones I liked the best. I guess I like the variety."

"Yeah, that's the common argument." Misty admitted. "But I'm gonna do everything I can to freshen up my typing of choice." A few moments later, she glanced back at him. "Say… you up to switch to fourth gear?"

Ash blinked for a second. He was honestly enjoying their more casual cruise, but this was meant to get them used to it. After brief consideration, he nodded. "Sure, let's do it."

The mischievous look on Misty's face made his skin crawl.

"Good…" she said, her hand creeping over to the button. Suddenly, she sped up, blitzing ahead down the road. "Cause we're racing now! By!"

Ash's cheeks were the color of a tomato as he watched his friend blazing down the path ahead of him.

"H-Hey! Hold on!" quickly switching to fourth gear as quickly as he could manage, he pedaled ahead furiously in an attempt to catch up.

/

Fourth gear was nothing short of an intense feeling of adrenaline. The wind pushing against Ash's face breezed into him just that much harder, the world passing by him at frantic rates as he sped down the road at exhilarating speeds.

And yet it was still just as smooth. Just as perfect as before. It wasn't a scary feeling. Not after he got accustomed to it, at least.

Of course, Misty had bragged about "winning" their race despite her own head start. Despite his frustration, Ash let her have it. He was in too good of a mood to really care.

Misty sat cross-legged next to Ash on a large rock. The two had reached the end of the path, and each had a water bottle in hand as they observed the sea ahead.

As Misty tilted her head back to guzzle down a large chunk of her water (she was rarely ever conservative with her drinks, Ash noted), Ash looked out to the water, connected to the greater sea that could be found beyond the city.

The duo had reached the area of the outskirts near Cerulean Cave, perhaps the only place in the area that beginners preferred to avoid. It was said to be home to particularly powerful Pokemon, far dissonant from the rest of Cerulean.

With the land elevated decently above the water, the two rookie trainers were greeted with a perfect sight of the cave's entrance, which rose above the water and directly into their line of vision, as a few water types played together on the surface of the water. The breeze gave off an incredibly relaxing feel, perfect after their intense "race" on their new bicycles.

Despite the simplicity, Ash found himself enjoying the sight of the infamous cave and the water leading up to it. Perhaps it was just the quiet feel of the place? There was no one else here except for them and the water types playing in the water, unalerted to their presence.

Misty smiled. "I remember people living here aren't even allowed near that cave without a Trainer's License. A shame, since it's a nice place to look at." As Ash nodded in agreement, she nudged him with her elbow as she spared him a glance. "You're lucky you're here with me and not Laura, you know. With this kind of view, she'd probably try to turn this into a date or something."

Ash chuckled nervously at the remark. He supposed it wouldn't be unlike her, given what he knew about the girl at the moment.

"I'm assuming that's a common occurrence?" he responded with mild amusement.

Misty grumbled. "Maybe not here, but she doesn't exactly learn her lesson, even with me trying to keep her in check. Sometimes it feels like that just encourages her further. She loves getting reactions." she smirked at that. "Or maybe she just finds me entertaining." Even in peaceful moments of relaxation such as this one, her ego never failed to shine through.

The constant reminders of the hothead's arrogance, however, were also reminders to Ash of just how much more he liked spending time with Misty than Gary. The numerous surface-level characteristics that the two of them shared did nothing to sour the boy's opinion of the water enthusiast. His mind kept coming back to it, thinking of just how ironic it was that he considered Misty a friend.

"So…" Misty trailed off for a moment before continuing. "You're gone tomorrow, right?" her voice stayed even, and her face was a bit more neutral now as she absentmindedly observed the cave, deep in thought.

Ash nodded again. "I really do need to get back on the road soon. Nothing wrong with taking it slow, but I just like the sense of progress." he looked up thoughtfully. "I might go off the beaten path a bit, maybe go a bit north of here. Now that I have the bike I can always get back on track pretty quickly." he chuckled. "But that means I'd have to leave soon, to help make up for it. I still want to be on my way to Saffron in a few days at most."

"A Pokemon researcher lives just a bit north of here." Misty commented at that as she spared the boy another glance. "By a beach."

Ash nodded. He had caught wind of that during his stay at Cerulean. His main reason for heading off of the main trail was just to explore a bit more and see if he could find another teammate, not to mention he'd still probably be able to battle a lot of trainers along the way, given that plenty of other beginner trainers were all over the place in Cerulean's area. But the news about the Researcher who had set up shop just at the edge of Cerulean's territory also had him curious even further. Apparently he was supposed to be quite renowned.

Looking behind him, down the trail that he and Misty had rode their bicycles on, Ash smiled as attention returned to the entrance of the cave.

"I like this city." he commented simply after drinking some of his water. "Honestly, even without my dream, I might've become a trainer just as an excuse to see places like this."

Misty snorted. After downing the rest of her water, she smirked ahead at the cave. "A lifetime of vacation, eh? Sounds pretty convenient…" she sighed after a few seconds, however, before glancing over to Ash with a more genuine smile. "I know I love jabbing at you, but in all seriousness, it was pretty nice having you around."

There was no strain in her voice as she looked back at the view ahead. No denial, no difficulty in delivery, no hesitation. A simple fact that fluidly rolled off her tongue. A friendly declaration that was made just as easily as any snarky comment, or outburst of anger that had ever escaped the smug hothead's mouth.

A sentence that Gary would have been completely incapable of speaking.

Ash didn't even have a strong reaction to that, simply nodding in response as he glanced over to the other trainer.

"Glad the feeling's mutual. Honestly, it's nice being on the road with another person."

Misty nodded in agreement as Ash took another brief sip of his water. "Yeah, it makes things a bit livelier. More interesting. Not to mention, it can just be helpful."

Especially given what had happened back at Mt. Moon. Both children knew it, but neither dared sour the moment by speaking of it.

They would not allow that to enter their minds today.

Ash took the next few moments to finish his water up, as he and Misty finally rose from the rock. The aura of the area was so comfortable, neither of them would have wanted to stand again if they had stayed seated for much longer.

Returning their now empty water bottles to their backpacks, the trainers looked downwards to the Pokémon in the water, mild consideration on their features as they thought of trying to make a quick catch, but both of them decided against it. They weren't planning to be here for long.

Nevertheless, Misty sighed. "Ughh… If the others weren't waiting for us, this would be the perfect place for it, but I guess we'll have to get to the Pokemon Center first."

Ash shot his friend a curious glance. "Hmm?"

As Misty raised her head at him, her eyes inescapably locking onto his, as though it was unavoidable, the flames in her eyes made Ash's blood turn hot, rushing through his veins.

The adrenaline was back. All from a simple look.

The girl crossed her arms, pretending to be absent minded as she looked over her friend calmly. The serene expression on her face never reached her eyes, which betrayed her true intentions. The real emotions that the rest of her body language almost flawlessly hid from him.

Ash just smiled at her, his grin small, but clear to see. Somehow, he looked forward to hearing what she was going to say. Maybe he wouldn't have known otherwise, but the fire in her gaze told him all that needed to be told. Perhaps he would have been blindsided had it not been for that, but Misty's subtle expression had given him enough clues.

Crossing her arms cooly, Misty's face was still even (except for her eyes) as she calmly stared Ash down.

"So…" the orange-haired girl began, calm and collected as she addressed the other trainer. "We agree that there's no hard feelings, right? We're friends, we're glad we met each other, we'd love to meet again, yada yada yada?"

Ash nodded at her. "Of course," he said simply.

"Good." said Misty. It was the last syllable she uttered before her mask of serenity broke.

The blood rushing through Ash's body sped up as Misty's face took on the most competitive grin she had ever mustered, the fire in her eyes completely blending in with the rest of her expression as her smirk went wild.

"Because none of that sentimental bullcrap is getting you out of a beatdown. Not from me." Her voice was definitive, aggressive, confrontational, and absolutely exhilarating.

Now it was Ash's turn to lose himself to the excitement. His grin nearly split his face in half as his eyes refused to leave Misty's. As his heartbeat steadily sped up in his chest, he could feel his own fire from before return. He had never been overtaken by such an emotion before now, and this wasn't likely to be the last time it happened.

"Does that mean…" he let her finish it for him.

Ash was gripping one of the Poke Balls on his belt, but Misty had already beaten him to it, her arm shooting outward and holding the red and white orb towards him, the capsule pointing right at his chest as her arm stayed steady.

"Ash Ketchum, I, the future's greatest water type trainer, challenge you to a battle!"

Her declaration was over the top. Shouted loudly, despite being for nobody's ears but his own. Zero self-awareness to her own theatrics, and little chance that it would have changed her mind regardless.

One sentence. One look in the eyes. One look on her face. And Misty had given him a bigger adrenaline rush than he imagined that any bike ride ever could.

If Ash's grin wasn't wide before, it definitely was now as he unclipped the Poke Ball from his belt, glancing at the orb for just a brief moment before his gaze turned back to Misty, this time meeting her eyes deliberately.

"I hope you can handle the disappointment."

No amount of friendship that had been forged by their time together could ever hope to take priority over what they truly were: Competitors. Rivals.

Pokemon trainers.

/

As much as their mutually-shared adrenaline rush had begged for the two to throw down right then and there (and they very nearly did), they suppressed their competitive urges just long enough to regroup with the others and head for the Pokemon Center. The battlefield was thankfully unoccupied upon their arrival.

Ryan sat down next to Maria on the bench as Laura and Rockruff sat at the end of it. Grookey made his way up to the teenagers head as he observed Ash and Misty moving to take their positions.

"Good luck, you two." he said as he watched them. "Just try not to tear up the place." he teasingly added.

"Or do." said Maria with a bright giggle. "There's really no need to limit the action, right?"

Laura's hand rested on her chin as she looked between the two trainer's with a notable smirk creeping its way onto her lips.

"Soooo… anyone placing bets?" It was probably her shameless tone of voice that got Misty turning back to her with a light glare.

"You are not making money off of my battles, Laura!"

Laura's hands shot up in mock surrender. "Yeesh, girl. Whatever you say I guess."

As Ash arrived at his spot, he looked back towards the bench, expecting to see Tyrunt with the others. He blinked when he saw no dinosaur observing from the sidelines, and a light nudge on his leg had him glancing downwards, just in time to see the Royal heir Pokemon pushing his head affectionately against Ash's leg.

Ash grinned at that. "I take it you want to be with me?"

An excited nod and happy cry was all the answer that he needed.

Ash felt some warmth in his chest at that. Not only did Tyrunt now want to keep watching battles, but he wanted to do it from by his side.

A loud whistle from Misty brought both Ash and Tyrunt's attention to the other side of the battlefield, her fists firmly pressing against her hips as the two trainer's locked eyes once again, that fire in their spirit finally flaring up once more. Or maybe it had never left?

"Silly little Ash Ketchum…" Misty teased as she unclipped a Poke Ball from her belt. Her smirk grew even further as she enlarged the orb. "Did you really think you'd get away from me without getting smacked into the pavement at least once? A real trainer capitalizes on golden opportunities."

Ash was too excited to feel nervous. In fact, he felt more daring than usual. "You sure you didn't just wait until the last minute because you were having second thoughts?"

Misty's response was fairly controlled. No haughty laugh. No glare. Just a twinkle in the eye from the orange-haired trainer as she lightly flicked her ponytail in response to his banter.

"Maybe I was just afraid of the guilt." she pretended to admit. "I mean, you might get pretty dejected after I stomp you. Buuut I can cross that bridge when I come to it."

Ash shook his head lightly at her remark, his grin not leaving his face.

Still more focused on the battle than the banter, he spoke up. "How many Pokemon?"

She shrugged. "Why hold back? Four on four. We have as much time as we want."

Ash nodded at that. It sounded like a plan.

Tyrunt looked between the two trainers as they prepared to release their first Pokemon. Ash took a bit longer to pick than Misty.

Half her team was water type. That would give Pikachu a good chance against her, especially since they didn't have to worry about fighting in a pool anymore. But there was no telling if she'd use a water type first, and she probably knew that he was prepared to have Pikachu at the ready for them.

Misty was tapping her foot impatiently, poke Ball already in hand, as Ash finally made his choice and unclipped one of the capsules from his belt.

Both trainers perked up as, in a flash of light, two Pokemon of the same species appeared on the battlefield.

Ash's Eevee on his side, and Misty's Eevee on hers.

Misty's lips curled up in amusement at that, and Ash couldn't help himself either.

Both Eevee seemed to be mildly surprised when they saw the opposing trainer on the other side of the field, glancing back at their own respective trainers in curiosity. It only took a quick nod from both trainers for the two evolution Pokemon to understand, gazing back at one another as they locked eyes.

Ash felt somewhat nervous as the two normal types began to tense up in preparation. He had seen Misty's Eevee battle against Lily, and although her battling style was similar to that of his own Eevee, she had at least one additional trick up her sleeve that they'd have to look out for.

And of course, Misty knew his team just as much as he knew her own.

The eager girl made the first move. "Advance, while using Swift!"

Ash mildly grimaced at that. No doubt she was trying to make it harder for his own Eevee to avoid the attack, while simultaneously getting in close for a follow up.

"Quick Attack, around the battlefield!" he countered.

As Misty's Eevee ran forward, the golden stars shooting out of her mouth, Ash's Eevee took off sprinting to the side, circling around her opponent as the stars attempted to follow her, but lost their target and crashed harmlessly into the barriers.

"Bite!" Ash called out as his Eevee successfully made her way behind Misty's.

"Double Kick!" Misty countered.

Just as Ash's Eevee closed in, jaws wide open and at the ready, Misty's Eevee whirled around, legs glowing yellow as she brought a foot up to her opponent's chin. Ash winced as his Eevee took the hit, her mouth being forced shut by the attack, before a second kick, aimed at her face, sent her rolling backwards near where Misty was standing.

"Body Slam!" She followed up.

She underestimated how long it would take for Ash's downed Eevee to rise back to her feet, however. As Misty's Eevee leapt overhead and prepared to catapult downwards towards her target, Ash's Eevee sprang back up on all fours, skidding away just far enough to avoid the blow as her opponent uselessly collided with the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust as Misty's Eevee was left wide open to the barrage of golden stars that escaped her doppelganger's mouth.

As Misty's Eevee was pushed back into the barriers by the assault, Ash saw his chance.

"Quick Attack!"

At top speed, his Eevee rammed headfirst into Misty's, prompting a pained wail as the opposing evolution Pokemon was sandwiched between the barriers and her opponent's attack. Thankfully, the furry body of Misty's Eevee provided a decent cushion for Ash's to not hurt her head from the impact with the barriers.

Ash wanted to keep up the pressure by ordering Eevee to use Bite, but now Misty was frantically shouting orders.

"Iron Tail, hurry!"

"Bite!" Ash called out.

Misty's own Eevee proved to be quite resilient herself, pulling away just in time to escape her opponent's jaws as her tail became coated with metal. Although it took a bit longer than usual for her to pull off the attack (likely because she was still reeling from the opposing Eevee's brief assault) she successfully swung her metallic tail forward, catching Ash's Eevee with a direct hit to the jaw. Ash frowned as his Eevee was sent rolling back, stopping on her stomach as she struggled to her feet.

No doubt the Double Kick and Iron Tail had left Eevee's jaw sore at best. Which meant it would be harder to execute Moves that utilized it, not to mention the constant pain would slow Eevee down-

"Shadow Ball!"

Ash raised a brow at that.

Wait… what?

His Eevee seemed a bit bewildered as well, getting up to avoid the the ball of distorted energy that escaped from her opponent's jaws, but getting hit just before she could start moving again. Although the impact of the attack sent her skidding backwards, the explosion causing her very mild pain, the ghost type move inevitably didn't have much of a notable effect on the normal type Pokemon.

Ash was wondering why Misty would use such a tactic… until the moment she followed up.

"Iron Tail!" the hothead called out, just as the Shadow Ball made contact.

The moment Eevee's skidding came to a stop, she looked up in surprise to see her lookalike bolting towards her with Quick Attack, doing a somersault to bring the metallic tail down onto her head.

The Shadow Ball was meant to lure them into a false sense of security, a frustrated Ash realized. It wouldn't give Eevee as much of an adrenaline rush as an attack that would cause more outward harm, like Swift, for example. So Eevee, with not as much of a fight or flight response as usual, wouldn't be as quick to get back up to her feet.

And the impact, while borderline harmless, would leave them wide open for the finishing blow.

CRACK!

The metal tail collided with the top of Eevee's head, the Evolution Pokemon colliding facefirst with the pavement, swiftly drifting out of consciousness.

As Misty's Eevee, bruised up but still battle ready, made her way back to her trainer, a dejected Ash took out Eevee's Poke Ball and returned his partner.

"Good work, Eevee. Take a rest." it was all he could really say.

The sight of Misty's smirk rubbed it in further. He had fallen for that quite pathetically. And for such an obvious tactic, too. It was certainly a clever one, but he couldn't help but feel as though he should have picked up on his friend's ulterior motive. Nobody would use a ghost type move against a normal type Pokemon without a sound reason for it.

Ash would never say it outloud, but Misty's willingness to play dirty sort of reminded him of Daisy.

Crossing her arms cheekily and tilting her head to the side, Misty eyed her opponent for a moment before calling out to the boy.

"Getting cold feet, kiddo? Is my prize money ready yet?" with some dramatics, she put a hand to her ear. "Go on, I'll hear your surrender."

Ash's face tightened a bit, but his composure didn't waver as his hand returned to his belt.

"That was a nice trick, Misty." he complimented simply, before releasing his next Pokemon.

Misty's lips twitched further at Ash's words as she eyed his next teammate.

Pikachu appeared on the battlefield, already on all fours. Ash had wanted to save him for one of the water types, but the battle had taken a fairly disadvantageous turn pretty quickly. Eevee's Shadow Ball and Iron Tail could both prove troublesome for Valiant, and although Nebula would be a good bet, that could just provoke Misty into switching out.

Truth be told, none of Misty's Pokemon could fight Pikachu comfortably. Her Jigglypuff would be in danger from his Iron Tail, her Eevee would face trouble from his Brick Break, and he had all of them beaten in terms of mobility. Eevee and Staryu likely both fared a bit better in that regard, but Ash's hope was for Pikachu to overwhelm Eevee with superior speed and use his electricity to wear her down in time to close in with Brick Break. Plus, Eevee was likely a bit winded from the previous bout, making it harder to keep up with Pikachu's own momentum. No doubt being bashed against the barriers the way she had been had at least somewhat depleted her strength.

Misty's situation was likely setting in for her, as her lips gradually curled downwards into a frown as her hand reached her chin, her gaze not leaving the electric mouse as his cheeks sparked expectantly, staring down Eevee for a moment before looking back at Ash with a nod.

"Eevee's been beat." Ash announced to his starter. At Pikachu's frown, the boy offered the young mouse a thumbs up. "You know what to do, just outrun her."

Pikachu smiled a bit at that, although his gaze remained serious as he returned his attention to Eevee.

To Ash's surprise, however, the evolution Pokemon did not stay on the battlefield for long, as Misty's Poke Ball pulled Eevee back in with a flash of light.

Ash quizzically watched as Misty said a few words to the round capsule, a kind smile on her face, before her expression steeled, a second Poke Ball finding its way to her hand as she released a new teammate.

Ash blinked at the sight of Jigglypuff, who lightly bounced up and down before waving at Pikachu. The mouse offered her a quick smile before the serious look returned to his eyes.

Jigglypuff was arguably the Pokemon that Ash least expected Misty to use against Pikachu… So what was her plan?

Then again, as Ash's mind wandered back to Misty's previous Gym Battle, Jigglypuff still wouldn't be defenseless against the electric mouse. Maybe Misty was just trying to catch him off guard?

"Pikachu." The boy got his Starter's attention as he knelt down for a moment. "That Jigglypuff knows Light Screen and Reflect, so she'll probably use them to block your attacks. She knows Gyro Ball, too, which works both as an attack and a shield. You'll have to find an opening, and strike with Iron Tail. Okay?"

At Pikachu's determined nod, Ash stood back up to see Misty finishing her own instructions to Jigglypuff, no doubt warning the rotund Normal Fairy Type about Pikachu's speed. When Misty offered him a nod, signaling that she was ready, Ash returned the favor before pointing forward to their target.

"Double Team, and Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu was very used to the routine at this point, splitting into two Pikachu that both took off in separate directions, circling around their opponent as the real Pikachu prepared to fire off the blast of lightning.

Predictably, the bolt was intercepted by the golden cube that erected around the Balloon Pokemon. Although Jigglypuff strained as the Thunderbolt impacted her golden barrier, a small crack forming on the point of the cube that the electric blast collided with, she remained unscathed in face of the assault.

Having allowed his clone to fizzle out, Pikachu blitzed forward with Quick Attack, his now metallic tail smashing through the barrier with ease, aimed at the cracked point. Light Screen was built to repel attacks like Thunderbolt, but unlike Reflect, wasn't nearly as effective against physical attacks.

As the barrier shattered, Misty reacted fast. "Gyro Ball!"

The impact of Iron Tail's shockwaves had sent Jigglypuff skidding backwards, Pikachu quickly following after her with his tail still coated in metal.

Just as the rapidly approaching Pikachu began to swing his tail towards Jigglypuff, the round Pokemon began rapidly rotating her body, which turned to steel as the Iron Tail smacked against it. Pikachu's foe was sent flying through the air, unharmed as she exited the form and locked her eyes down onto her opponent.

A ball of bright pink light began to form in Jigglypuff's arms, extending into a beam that rapidly descended downwards towards its target. As Pikachu blitzed to the side to avoid the Dazzling Gleam, allowing the blast to kick up a cloud of dust as it impacted the battlefield, Jigglypuff returned to the ground, Misty calling out a new order just before she finished her descent.

"Gyro Ball, then Fire Punch!"

Using the momentum from her fall, Jigglypuff began spinning once more, returning back to her previous form just before hitting the ground. Pikachu's eyes widened as she sped towards him, exiting her form just in time to engulf her fist in flames as she closed in on her target.

A metallic tail blocked the strike, the flames from the balloon Pokemon's fist superheating the metal on Pikachu's tail as the young mouse was pushed back by the momentum. Flipping over from the impact, the yellow rodent landed steadily on his tail, only to be struck by a second pink beam just as he regained his bearings.

Ash frowned as his Starter cried out in pain, sailing through the air before slamming an Iron Tail down onto the pavement to catch himself. The moment he returned to the ground, he slipped into Quick Attack, Iron Tail coated in electricity as Jigglypuff frantically raised a glass cube around herself in defense.

SMASH!

Perhaps Jigglypuff didn't have enough time to raise her Reflect at full power, or maybe Pikachu's Zap Tail provided him with the extra offensive power that was needed in order to shatter her barrier. Whatever the case, Jigglypuff was sent skidding backwards, wincing in mild pain as Pikachu followed after her again.

But once again, the rotund combatant slipped into Gyro Ball, ready to intercept the assault.

As Zap Tail sent Jigglypuff flying above the battlefield once more, Ash bit his lip in concern.

At this rate, they wouldn't be scoring any decisive hits. Jiggpluff had done this against Lily: Using the durability and rotation of Gyro Ball to deflect enemy attacks, with the Move also doubling as a means to maintain momentum to attack at high speeds. Alongside Reflect and Light Screen, it ensured that the Normal Fairy Type would have no shortage of defensive options.

Jigglypuff made her way back down to the battlefield, no doubt planning to use a high-speed Fire Punch like before. Just as she descended down towards the pavement, Ash called out to his Starter Pokemon.

"Double Team!"

Misty groaned as Pikachu split into two copies, but pressed her offense.

"Keep going, Jigglypuff!"

Ash wondered how Jigglypuff was able to see her target while spinning so fast. Was she just guessing based on where Pikachu had been before?

Pikachu seemed to pick up on this, however, staying close to his copy as the pink Pokemon closed in.

Jigglypuff exited her rotating form and rocketed forward with a flaming fist, only for her target to fizzle out of existence upon impact. Behind her, Pikachu, who had circled around his target as she had thrown the punch at his copy, leapt upwards as he prepared a Zap Tail, swinging downwards to smash his opponent against the pavement.

Jigglypuff whirled around just in time, however, striking back with her still flaming fist, even coating her other fist in fire as well. The double Fire Punch intercepted the Zap Tail, but Pikachu pushed forward, forcing the Ballon Pokemon down onto her back as sparks from the electricity from Zap Tail, now in point blank contact with her, painfully singed against her body, the flames on her fist getting close to her as well as Pikachu continued to push them downwards.

It seemed like Pikachu would be landing the decisive hit, until…

"Dazzling Gleam!" Misty's voice was somewhat desperate.

An explosion sent a yelping Pikachu flying backwards as Jigglypuff frantically fired the attack at point-blank. The impact from the explosion painfully assaulted the rotund Normal Fairy Type as she was sandwiched between the shockwaves and the pavement, while Pikachu, despite having Iron Tail to shield him, still cried out in pain as the shockwaves bruised him. He regained his composure in just enough time to use Iron Tail to break his fall.

As Pikachu returned to all fours, Jigglypuff picked herself up and glared at the young rodent, who took note of her now charred fur. Patches of black and brown mixed in with the bright pink as the Balloon Pokemon's cheeks expanded in frustration, clearly not appreciating the close call.

Ash thought back to Misty's Gym battle. What other moves did Jigglypuff know? Drain Punch and Body Slam, as far as he remembered. Body Slam would be risky to use against Pikachu, given his electricity, but Drain Punch would work quite well when coupled with Gyro Ball.

Misty seemed to have a different strategy in mind, however. "Gyro Ball, then Dazzling Gleam!"

Ash's eyes widened a bit. She was trying to get in close to strike Pikachu with the blast. If she could hit him point blank, without Iron Tail in the way…

Thankfully, Pikachu blurred to the side as Jigglypuff's rotating form advanced. As the beam struck the barriers, Pikachu maneuvered his way behind his target, Iron Tail at the ready as Misty countered.

"Gyro Ball again!"

Pikachu's Iron Tail uselessly struck against his rotund opponent's rotating body. Ash couldn't help but wonder if the attack was doing any damage to Jigglypuff, or if the blows were being nullified completely. Even if Jigglypuff was encased in metal, so was Pikachu's tail…

At the very least, it was certainly cushioning the blows well, and the seemingly unharmed Balloon Pokemon was sent flying into the air, bouncing off one of the barriers and continuing to gain height.

Misty smirked as Jigglypuff sailed high above Pikachu's head, much higher than she had been at any other point in the battle.

"Now! Metallic Divebomb! Then Drain Punch!"

Ash flinched as he took a mild step back. He hadn't heard of that technique before, but the name spoke for itself.

Jigglypuff stopped spinning, but remained in her metal form. Pikachu's eyes comically expanded like saucers as the round foe propelled herself downwards with Body Slam. Descending towards the battlefield with great speed, she just barely missed her mark as the panicking rodent desperately dashed out of the way.

SMASH!

The impact, however, generated an immense windforce. Pikachu still hadn't dodged in time, being right next to the metallic, sphere-shaped Pokemon as she smashed her body against the pavement. The electric rodent was sent flying off of his feet as the shockwaves smashed into him.

Ash knew for a fact that Pikachu would have been history if that attack had landed. Broken bones definitely would have been a very clear possibility. He was left with no time to be relieved, however, as Jigglypuff proceeded to execute Misty's followup order.

Jigglypuff practically bounced off of the ground, using a combination of her momentum, and the shockwaves from the impact, to propel herself forward as she exited her metallic form. Pikachu had used Iron Tail to stop his fall as always, but was left belching in pain as a glowing, green fist was driven into his gut.

Misty had no doubt given Jigglypuff the Drain Punch command in preparation for the possibility of the speedy mouse avoiding their attack.

Ash frowned sympathetically as Pikachu landed on his back, his fur dirtying as he bounced against the pavement a few times, before rolling for a couple of seconds, eventually stopping himself on his paws. His rotund opponent might as well have flown right into him, and he hadn't even been able to break his fall like normal.

The blow had hit hard, too. Ash could see Pikachu mildly panting from it, and no doubt his stomach was bruised as well.

Looking over to Jigglypuff, who had steadily landed on her feet, Ash narrowed his eyes as the green energy from her fist expanded across her body, the spherical combatant taking a deep breath, before letting out a satisfied exhale as the energy dissipated.

Drain Punch wasn't just an attacking move. It was also a healing move. It took the energy from the target as it dealt damage to them, and used that energy to heal up the user. Which would mean that...

'So…' Ash thought to himself, admittedly impressed. 'Jigglypuff had been taking damage from the Iron Tails… her metal coating was just soaking up most of the impact. But Misty... she thought of that too, didn't she?'

Despite himself, Ash couldn't help the grin making its way to his face. Misty was good. He already knew that from watching her battle against Lily and the other trainers that they had previously met on the road, but firsthand experience was a Hell of a lot more telling to him.

She'd been upstaging them the entire battle… that needed to change quickly if they were going to win.

Still, his rapid heartbeat didn't feel like it was from stress… at least, not as much as usual.

Struggling against an opponent was a lot more enjoyable if you had gotten to know them, he supposed. Unlike Gary, the only other trainer he'd faced that he'd known prior, Misty was someone that he could have a pleasant interaction with. It gave this entire battle a much different feel than any other match that he'd had before. He wondered if his team felt the same way…

Then again, unlike him, they were actually taking the hits and feeling the pain. Still, Pikachu certainly seemed to enjoy battling, and Ash couldn't help but take note of the grin on his Starter's face, or the smile that Jigglypuff offered in return.

Ash couldn't let himself get lost in the enjoyment, however. His grin didn't leave his face as he analysed the two combatants, but his thoughts never ceased, either.

They needed to find a way to stop Jigglypuff's Gyro Ball. Pikachu wouldn't last much longer at this rate, if he kept exerting himself this much while Jigglypuff cushioned her way through his blows.

The key would be halting the momentum that she got from the rotation, which means…

"Gyro Ball again! Bounce off the barrier!"

A bit far from the barrier, Jigglypuff leapt back, firing a Dazzling Gleam at Pikachu to halt his attempt at pursuing her as he was first to swerve to the side.

"Pikachu!" Ash's order caught the mouse's attention as Jigglypuff landed further away and threw herself at the barrier.. "Get ready!"

"Fire Punch!"

Coated in metal, and rapidly spinning, Jigglypuff bounced off of the barrier and sped her way to her target.

Ash grinned. "Thunder Wave!"

On the sidelines, Ryan's lips curled up knowingly as Pikachu let loose a blast of lightning towards his spinning target.

Thunder Wave didn't have nearly as much direct offensive power as a Thunderbolt did, but it made up for it with its ability to obstruct the opponent. Misty's face turned sour as Jigglypuff collided with the bolt, her partner's eyes widening in surprise as she felt her muscles lock up, suddenly finding it more difficult to move as fast as she had been, her rotation and advancement both slowing down.

It didn't halt her completely, but the follow-up would.

"Thunderbolt!"

A much more powerful bolt of lightning smashed into Pikachu's rotund adversary, Jigglypuff yelping out loud as she was forced backwards, the metal encasing her fur dissipating as she struggled to maintain her balance.

Ash almost cursed himself for not thinking of using Thunder Wave sooner. Back when Pikachu was still a Pichu, on Opening Day, they're entire battle against that Meowth from Team Rocket had depended on utilizing paralysis moves to slow the violent cat down. But he had gotten so used to using purely offensive fighting styles with Pikachu…

They'd neglected Moves like Thunder Wave, but thankfully Pikachu's growing experience with electricity still made it easy for him to use the move, even if he still didn't have much practice with it. The more hindering properties of the technique were the main difference, but Pikachu still knew how to use the move, so even if it wasn't as potent as it could have been otherwise, it was just enough, as the young mouse's knowledge of other electrical techniques, along with the knowledge that he still had on Thunder Wave, allowed him to pull off the attack.

No time to dwell on that, however. They had a battle to win, and an opponent who was finally wide open.

"Zap Tail!"

His Starter blitzed forward with Quick Attack, slamming his strongest attack into Jigglypuff as the spherical Pokemon screamed in pain. Misty started as her pink partner was sent flying backwards, slamming backfirst into the barriers (eliciting another yelp of pain) and bouncing off, landing face first into the pavement.

Jigglypuff wasn't down quite yet, however. The powerful steel type move slamming into her face, while coated with electricity, no less, had been a devastating blow, especially with the speed and momentum of Quick Attack to carry the force even further, leaving a nasty bruise and even more singed fur in addition to the charred spots from before. But despite that, Ash blinked in surprise as the normal/fairy type began to struggle to her feet.

Jigglypuff's defenses had been completely down when she took tha thit, but it looked like they would still need to finish things up.

"Electro Ball!"

As Pikachu bounded forward before leaping into the air, Jigglypuff staggered back to her feet, wobbling a bit before regaining her composure, just in time to see the mouse somewhat above her, a sizable ball of lightning at the tip of his tail.

With no time to dodge, she raised two flaming fists to intercept the attack as it was tossed towards her.

BOOM!

The explosion kicked up a large cloud of dust that Pikachu ran back to avoid as he landed on his tail (which he coated with metal to intercept his fall as always). Ash was fairly confident, however, and Misty's somewhat dejected expression told him that both trainers were expecting the same thing.

Which they got, when the dust cleared, and an unconscious Jigglypuff was revealed, sprawled out on her back.

Despite the victory, Ash couldn't help but feel a little bit unsatisfied. If only he had been more used to using Thunder Wave when needed, the fight probably wouldn't have been as difficult. At the very least, Misty would have been forced to change up her game plan.

Nevertheless, he allowed himself to smile. A win was a win, and Pikachu had earned this comeback.

"Great work, buddy! Thanks for hanging in there!"

Pikachu smiled back at his trainer, offering him a cheerful, quick, "Chu!" in response before returning his focus on Misty.

As Misty returned her pink partner, she felt a bit hollow inside herself, a somber grin on her face as she gazed at the capsule for a few moments.

"Great work out there, Jigglypuff." She kept it short and sweet as she clipped the normal/fairy type's poke Ball back onto her belt, before unclipping a new one.

As Misty gazed at Pikachu, she inwardly frowned.

'That one was my fault.' she thought to herself in disappointment. 'I should have known he'd know Thunder Wave. I'd just never seen him use it before…'

As she looked at her next capsule for a few seconds, Ash allowed himself to tease her a bit.

"So, Misty," he started. "About that prize money you mentioned before?" He wasn't sure he'd be saying this stuff if it was with anybody else, but the occasional banter didn't bother him too much right now.

"Oh, hardy har har." Misty grumbled, albeit with a light grin as the two trainer's locked eyes from across.

"Yo, Misty!" they heard Maria call out from the sidelines. "You sure you don't want to switch to Contests? That Jigglypuff was a little bit stylish for normal battles!"

"No commentary!" Misty quickly barked back at her friend before focusing on Ash again. She smiled. "Nice thinking there. Was it your plan to fool me into thinking you didn't know such a common move?"

Ash rubbed the back of his neck with a hint of bashfulness at the jab. Either she was accusing him of being more conniving than he actually was… or she had already figured out that he hadn't thought of using Thunder Wave nearly as quickly as he, by all means, probably should have.

"You didn't exactly tell me about your combo." he pointed out casually. He received a shrug in response.

"Fair enough." Misty admitted. "We're even. Now then…" her lips curved upwards in full as she tossed the orb into the air.

Ash wasn't too surprised when Staryu appeared, Misty's starter briefly looking back at her quizzically after seeing Ash and Pikachu on the other side. At its trainer's nod, Staryu turned back and fixed its gaze onto Pikachu, who's cheeks began to spark in readiness.

By this point, Ash had seen Staryu battle a decent few times. He knew the girl's starter was the real deal. Its aerial use of Rapid Spin gave it far better mobility than it would otherwise have, and by beginner-level Pokemon standards, it had access to a notable variety of moves, with the power necessary to back up such versatility. As far as beginner-level Pokemon were concerned, it was a jack of all trades, and likely master of a few.

Ash couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about this next round. Pikachu wasn't exhausted, but he was probably not at full capacity after the bout with Jigglypuff. They'd have to break through Staryu's defenses and end the match quickly. Electricity would score them decisive blows as long as they could land direct hits.

"Be careful, Pikachu." the boy looked down to his starter as the rodent's legs tensed up, ready to spring forward. "Staryu has a pretty diverse arsenal. So it and Misty are going to be prepared for just about anything."

Pikachu nodded in understanding, gazing Staryu down with mild concern as the starfish readied itself.

"Don't be reckless," he warned the mouse quickly. "But try to end the match fast. We don't want a drawn out battle with this opponent."

Misty called out. "Bubble Beam!"

The gem in the middle of Staryu's body lit up as a barrage of glowing bubbles made their way out. The starfish turned its body, allowing the stream of bubbles to follow after Pikachu as the mouse manuevered to avoid the attack.

As Pikachu circled around the battlefield and approached Staryu's side, he took a leap into the air, preparing to strike downwards with Zap Tail, only for his attack to instead strike the glass cube that now walled in Staryu.

The Reflect provided a serviceable means of defense for the water type, who was only subjected to half-nullified shockwaves as Pikachu's sparking, metallic tail left a large crack in the cube. As Pikachu pulled back from the collision, Staryu dropped the barrier and suddenly took off into the sky, spinning through the air as it circled around to charge for the rodent.

A yelping Pikachu narrowly leapt out of Staryu's path as the mysterious starfish ceased Rapid Spin, a barrage of golden stars now escaping from its once again glowing gem.

Splitting himself in two with Double Team, Pikachu dashed across the battlefield, his clone going in a separate direction as they avoided the onslaught of glowing projectiles. Dust kicked up as the golden stars rained down onto the pavement, and Pikachu ceased the opportunity to allow his clone to fizzle pout as he let loose an upwards Thunderbolt with a loud battlecry.

Staryu had seen the electrical blast coming, however, and had wrapped itself in a golden cube just in time for the hit to land. As Staryu descended back down to the battlefield, jolts of static seeped through the crack that formed on the barrier, mildly singing the starfish's body. But as the golden cube was dissipated upon landing, it was clear that no serious harm had been done.

Ash knew that using Double Team against Staryu wouldn't do much as long as Reflect and Light Screen gave it the means to defend, not to mention Rapid Spin giving it the means to dodge. Staryu wouldn't have to guess which Pikachu to defend from so long as it could just encase its entire body, or just leap above the battlefield entirely. Excessive use of Reflect and Light Screen would surely wear it down, but Pikachu's excessive use of Double Team would do the same to him. The best thing to do would be to conserve their energy for now.

"Pikachu," he called out to his Starter. As Pikachu's ears perked up, Ash nodded. "No more Double Team for now. Use Zap Tail!" Ash knew that allowing Misty to hear his order might not be the best strategy, but Pikachu was too far away to hear him otherwise if he said it quieter.

The mouse nodded at Ash's instructions as he raced forward, encasing his tail in metal, electricity flowing through the metallic tail as the rodent instinctively slipped into Quick Attack.

Theoretically, Quick Attack would eventually wear Pikachu down as well, but it wasn't as mentally taxing as Double Team, and Pikachu had long since trained up his physical endurance. It would take a lot longer for the electric type to run out of breath. Even the energy lost from his battle with Jigglypuff wouldn't prevent him from being able to fight at top speed for a while longer.

"Rapid Spin!" Misty called out as Pikachu began his advance. "Avoid him!"

Ash felt mild frustration as Staryu took off into the air just in time to avoid Pikachu's strike, although the boy didn't notice the few sparks that brushed up against the starfish's rapidly rotating body as Pikachu missed his mark.

Staryu expertly pressed its two bottom limbs against one of the barriers as it propelled itself off, spinning towards Pikachu in midair. The mouse dodged to the side, only for a rainbow-colored beam to escape from the starfish's glowing gem and blast the screaming mouse across the battlefield.

"Pikachu!" Ash hollered in concern as the explosion from the Psybeam kicked up a minor cloud of dust, Pikachu's fur dirtying further as he rolled across the pavement before stopping on all fours once more.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Pikachu didn't have time to catch his breath as Misty let out her next order, a bright pink beam of light escaping from her starfish partner's gem as Ash frantically yelled at his starter to get out of the way.

Pikachu just barely avoided it, running forward and out of the blast's path. However, when the beam struck the ground where he had previously been standing, the wind force generated by the shockwaves disrupted the rodent's balance. Although Pikachu caught himself before he could fall over, it gave Misty just enough time for another order.

"Winter Stream!"

A large Water Gun was let loose from Staryu's body. However, it was accompanied by the frigid breeze of Icy Wind. As the blast of liquid barreled into Pikachu, the mouse's breath caught in his throat as he tried to cry out in pain, only to be overtaken by an abrupt shiver as the freezing cold water bathed his fur.

Pikachu was too caught off guard by the frigid temperature of the attack to catch himself with Iron Tail as he was catapulted across the field, landing in the pavement and struggling to his feet as his body continued to shiver.

Ash bit his lip at the turn of events. He hadn't been expecting that tactic. Misty hadn't used it against Lily. But his eyes widened at her next command.

"Scald!"

"Pikachu! Out of the way!"

A surge of adrenaline rushed through Pikachu's blood as he made his way to his feet and leapt backwards, but Staryu was already upon him. Perhaps Pikachu would have avoided the attack otherwise, but Staryu had utilized Rapid Spin to advance forward while executing the move, allowing itself to be closer to its target upon letting loose.

It paid off.

Staryu had just recently been given the Scald TM, and therefore, was hardly able to use it at the capacity of the Pokemon that Ash and Misty had faced back at the Cerulean Gym. But hot water was hot water, and as the narrow stream of boiling liquid splashed over Pikachu's back, Ash almost had to cover his ears over the agonizing scream of pain that his starter let loose.

That had been the real reason why Misty had ordered Staryu to use their combo first, Ash immediately realized. Pikachu's body was still freezing cold from the attack, allowing the Scald to be far more effective than it already would have been normally. Pikachu's freezing cold body had been vulnerable to it, the sudden change of temperature jarring and merciless.

As Pikachu writhed on the pavement with tears streaming down his face, Misty had a miniscule glint of guilt in her eyes as she observed the young mouse. As if to put him out of his misery, she gave the final order.

"Psybeam!" she called out with a raised hand.

Pikachu struggled to power through the pain, attempting to rise back on all fours as Staryu prepared its attack. It was to no avail, however, and the electric mouse found himself on the receiving end of the finishing blow as his face was struck full force with the rainbow-colored beam.

Ash was already taking his Poke Ball out as Pikachu was blown back by the powerful blast, his starter's unconscious form left lying on his back as the dust settled.

Returning his partner to the capsule, Ash smiled apologetically at the orb.

"You did good, Pikachu." he declared kindly. "Take a rest. We'll win this, don't worry"

Clipping Pikachu's Poke Ball back to his belt, Ash observed Misty and Staryu, the Water specialist crossing her arms as her Starter made its way back to her side of the field.

No doubt Misty and Staryu had gone into the battle with the same mentality as him and pikachu. End things as quickly as possible. That combination that they had used at the end of the bout was perfectly suited for such a thing, for sure.

Misty had, after all, known that Pikachu was the one who posed the biggest threat to her. His starter's movepool and speedy attributes meant that it was a potential counter for any member of her team, and a decisive hit from one of Pikachu's electric attacks would have instantly turned the battle in the mouse's favor.

Misty and Staryu had shut that threat down, however. And now that they had retaken the lead in the match, Ash was left with limited options as he tried to pick up the pieces.

Ash's hand ran between Valiant and Nebula's Poke Balls as Tyrunt observed him curiously. Either one would be strong contenders, but Valiant's mobility was outclassed by Staryu, whereas Nebula would be in constant danger from Icy Wind and Thunderbolt.

Ash mildly hummed to himself, not realizing that he was doing it outlook until he saw Tyrunt's quizzical look. He sent the baby an apologetic glance.

"Sorry," he spoke sheepishly as the Royal heir Pokemon tilted his head. "Just thinking."

Returning his attention to Misty and Staryu, Ash allowed a hand to make its way to his chin. Valiant or Nebula…

Misty didn't say anything, seemingly noticing that he was deep in thought.

After a few more moments of thinking, Valiant appeared in front of Ash. His Thunderbolt gave him a better means to attack Staryu, and despite Staryu having access to effective defensive Moves, Valiant had the same ones.

Valiant perked up at the sight of their opponents, but a quick nod from Ash was all the Kirlia needed.

Ash was just about to give the Emotion Pokemon some instructions as Valiant's gaze became fixed on the starfish, when Misty's Starter abruptly disappeared back into her Poke Ball.

A few seconds later, Eevee was back on the field, perking up at the sight of Valiant and growling in preparation for the bout.

Tyrunt's face had split into a grin as Valiant showed up, the infant dinosaur jumping up and down and waving his tiny arms as the young Kirlia looked back and smiled at him.

Grinning at the interaction, Ash crouched down to look his partner in the eyes. "Valiant, that Eevee beat our Eevee earlier, and she knows how to use Shadow Ball and Iron Tail. Neither attack will be good news for you, so keep your barriers ready, or be prepared to use Teleport or Shadow Sneak." he held up a finger. "Just make sure you use them wisely. We're at a disadvantage right now. They're in the lead, so we need to conserve our energy." The Kirlia soaked up Ash's information, just as he often seemed to, and nodded evenly with a light, reassuring grin.

Ash returned the gesture just before Valiant turned back to lock eyes with Eevee, who held her head high in preparation for the next round.

Ash knew that Misty's Eevee was still wounded from the battle with his own, but she couldn't have been in too bad a shape if Misty was confident enough sending her out against Valiant. No doubt she was planning for another quick victory, but Ash knew that he and his team couldn't afford a repeat of Pikachu and Staryu.

He'd told Valiant what he needed to watch out for. He'd reminded him to be conservative and tactical about his more taxing moves. That was the best that he could do before the battle started.

Despite the disadvantage, however, the excitement from before reentered his chest as the battle finally resumed.

"Iron Tail!"

At her trainer's command, Eevee slipped into Quick Attack, her tail already coated in metal as she leapt up to bring it down on top of Valiant's head.

Valiant flashed out of existence, appearing several feet away from the Evolution pokemon as her tail smacked the pavement. His eyes shined as he fired Psybeam in her direction.

But Misty had already warned Eevee about the incoming attack, and as she shouted "Watch out!" The quadruped spun around on her forelegs and smacked the approaching, rainbow-colored blast with her still metal tail. A Shadow Ball was already forming in her jaws as the deflected blast dissipated, and Valiant had to frantically encase himself in a golden cube as the orb of ghostly energy barreled towards him.

The high-speed attack struck the barrier as Valiant braced himself, the Kirlia feeling the windforce as the ghostly energy cracked the front of the cube. As Eevee advanced forward once more, raising her still metal coated tail to destroy the cube completely, Valiant lowered the barrier as his eyes glowed with focus.

Telepathy did its work.

Reading Eevee's body language, and examining her muscles, Valiant saw that she wasn't going to leap up to deliver a downward blow like before. As Eevee spun around on her forelegs and aimed to slap Valiant in the skull, the Kirlia ducked his head as he skillfully leaned backwards and swayed to the side.

The metallic tail passed over the Kirlia's head, Valiant feeling the wind in his face as he maneuvered to Eevee's side and fired a point-blank Dazzling Gleam.

The pink beam was even more painful for the Evolution Pokemon due to the injury to the side that she had previously sustained against Ash's Eevee. Misty flinched as her partner cried out in pain, catapulting multiple feet across the battlefield and rolling along the pavement.

Valiant followed up with a quick Psybeam, which sailed through the air and towards its target as Misty began frantically shouting at her friend to get out of the way. Her words ere thankfully head, as Eevee picked herself up and dashed away from the blast.

"Point-blank Shadow Ball!"

"Teleport!" Ash quickly called out to counter, his eyes widening at the sound of the command.

Eevee's jaw began to fill with ghostly energy as she slipped into Quick Attack, blitzing her way towards her Psychic opponent as the ghostly energy formed into an orb shape.

If Valiant got hit by that, the ghostly energy would wreak havoc on his body. Direct hits from ghost type moves were known to interfere with an unsuspecting Psychic's system, unless they had trained to develop a better endurance to it, or had an additional typing that canceled out the weakness.

Thankfully, Valiant flashed away from Eevee just as she was upon him, the Shadow Ball rocketing out of her jaws and harmlessly into the barrier. As Valiant reappeared in the center of the arena, Misty pointed at Eevee's target.

"Circle around him!"

Eevee complied, and Valiant suddenly found himself artificially encased as the Evolution Pokemon, slipping into Quick Attack once more, and ran circles around the Kirlia.

Ash was a bit nervous, but he also knew that Valiant had gone through this before: against Pikachu in Pewter City.

A nostalgic smile made its way to the boy's face as Valiant sank into his shadow, Eevee abruptly skidding to a stop in shock as her opponent surprisingly began moving along the ground with Shadow Sneak.

Misty's eyes were wide, a bead of sweat making its way down her neck at the turn of events. A few seconds later, she comically shook her head over and over to regain her bearings, before shouting back out at the battlefield.

"Move, Eevee! Keep moving!"

Complying once more, Eevee resumed Quick Attack, running all over the battlefield as Valiant began to lie in wait.

She was only tiring herself out, but Shadow Sneak was also taxing for Valiant if he kept it going for too long.

Thankfully for Valiant, the Kirlia was doing exactly what he had done against Pikachu on that day. Predicting Eevee's movements, and where she will be.

The unsuspecting quadruped was caught unawares as her dashing was interrupted by a painful barrage of glowing, green leaves that escaped from Valiant's palm, the Kirlia rising out of the ground and taking aim at his target.

Eevee's fur looked a lot less clean now as she rolled across the pavement yet again. She came to a halt on all fours, Valiant turning to scrutinize her as she rose back up to her feet, panting a bit.

Ash was impressed by this Eevee's resilience. Valiant's raw power had spiked after his evolution, but even after the hits that Eevee took, not to mention the injuries that she had sustained from his own Eevee, she was still in the game.

Misty smiled at her partner's endurance, but showed no cockiness as she gave her next order.

"Swift!"

Ash was about to order Valiant to raise a Light Screen in response to the golden stars, but stopped himself at the last second.

"Shadow Sneak again!"

Misty was likely planning to wear Light Screen down with repeated assaults before trying her luck at a point blank attack. Swift was much more difficult to avoid, as Valiant lacked Pikachu's fluid movement at the moment. If he teleported away, the stars could still potentially pursue him.

But if he went back into the ground with Shadow Sneak…

Misty's heart sank as Valiant once again dipped his body back into the dark aura that manifested beneath his feet. The golden stars no longer had a target, rocketing their way across the battlefield until they finally collided harmlessly into the barriers.

Ash called out to his partner. "Grab Eevee and use Dazzling Gleam!"

Eyes wide as saucers, Misty was sweating rapidly as she let out a panicked counterorder.

"Run around the battlefield! Fast as you can!"

As Valiant's shadowy form moved across the ground in the evolution Pokemon's direction, the quadruped broke into a hasty Quick Attack as she sped her way around the battlefield, knowing that it would be over for her if her opponent took hold of her.

Ash frowned a bit at that. He had figured that Eevee would break into another run, as much as he would have preferred for Valiant to succeed in grabbing onto his opponent, but it wasn't like the plan was thwarted. Now, they were just in a repeat of before.

Misty seemed to realize this, too, as her face did not project confidence as Eevee dashed across the pavement.

It went on for a good few moments, almost feeling like a few minutes, both Pokemon maneuvering their way across the arena as Valiant attempted to take aim. Eevee was moving faster, but Valiant was following her almost perfectly, just waiting for the moment when he had finally locked onto her.

"Get your Iron Tail ready!" Misty seemed to be preparing for the worst as Eevee's tail became coated with metal. Ash bit his lip at that.

The moment finally came when Valiant finally rose out of his shadowy aura, at last getting a clean shot on the Eevee as he fired off the bright, glowing pink beam.

Eevee swerved around just in time, however, slapping the blast away from her with her metal coated tail as she spun around on her forelegs.

Unfortunately for her, however, Valiant had immediately followed up, teleporting right to her side and letting loose a Psybeam that collided point-blank with the back of her head.

Misty cried out as her partner was sent flying a few feet away from Valiant, stopping herself on all fours and struggling to get back up after her body finished rolling across the pavement. The young evolution Pokemon's teeth grinded, her eyes clenched shut for a brief moment as she attempted to power through the pain.

But then she fell onto her stomach, and her eyes were closed yet again. She made no further attempts to return to her feet.

A somewhat dejected Misty returned her unconscious partner to her Poke Ball as Tyrunt cheered happily. When Valiant looked back to his trainer and the dinosaur, Ash offered him a thumbs up, grinning good-naturedly at his partner.

"Great work, Valiant! We've evened things out now." Ash's praise was accompanied by more cheering from Tyrunt.

As the grinning Kirlia brought his attention back to Misty, who had just finished saying some words of encouragement to the Poke Ball carrying her fallen Eevee, the water specialist sighed before flicking her hair a bit, glancing at Ash with what looked to be a somewhat neutral expression.

"Heh, wasn't expecting a Kirlia to use Shadow Sneak that way." she admitted, her eyes briefly making their way towards Valiant before setting their gaze back to Ash. "Guess that means that this battle's in its second half." A light smirk crept its way to her face. "You better not go losing momentum on me, Ash Ketchum. I don't take kindly to being let down."

The fire was surging through Ash's chest again as he shook his head honestly.

"I would never." he said in a straight voice, his grin meeting Misty's smirk.

Misty chuckled as she unclipped another Poke Ball. "As long as you know that I'm holding you to that."

Staryu appeared in front of Valiant, the two immediately locking their gazes onto one another.

The boy couldn't help but wonder how the Psychic felt about this. Although they hadn't spent as much time together as Nebula and Prinplup, Valiant and Staryu seemed to have developed something of a minor kinship with one another. Ash wouldn't be able to pinpoint the reasoning, as Staryu's attributes made it very difficult for him to ascertain the starfish's personality, although Misty probably had a much better grip on what her Starter Pokemon was like.

As his back was to them, Ash and Tyrunt couldn't see Valiant's expression, but the look in his eyes was fairly mutual. He didn't look at Staryu the same way he did at the other Pokemon that he'd faced up to this point.

"Valiant." The Emotion Pokemon perked up at the sound of Ash's voice, but didn't look away from his opponent. "Staryu beat Pikachu. It can maneuver around in the air, has access to the same defensive techniques that you do, and has a good deal of variety with its ranged attacks."

As Valiant nodded, Ash regrettably wasn't too sure how they would approach this upcoming bout. Ideally, they'd have to go for a powerful Thunderbolt, but Staryu had already proven itself to be more than capable of defending against electricity. They had to deal with the barriers first, but Staryu's Rapid Spin was another obstacle as well.

As Misty finished instructing Staryu (likely warning it that Valiant had beaten Eevee), she locked eyes with Ash, silently questioning him if he was ready. At Ash's nod, she pointed forward.

"Swift!"

"Shadow Sneak!"

Valiant sank into the puddle of darkness that spawned at his feet just as Staryu let loose the barrage of golden projectiles. The stars passed over where the young Kirlia once was, colliding with the barrier in front of Ash and Tyrunt as Valiant's now shadowy form began to advance towards his Water type opponent.

Staryu had caught onto this, however, taking off into the air with Rapid Spin just as the golden onslaught had missed its mark. Now Valiant couldn't blindside it, but that depended on how long the starfish was capable of staying in the air. Even with Rapid Spin, it couldn't actually fly.

At the same time, Valiant would exhaust himself if he kept Shadow Sneak going for too much time at once, and losing a war of attrition with a versatile Pokemon like Misty's Staryu would spell certain doom for them.

"Magical Leaf!" he called out with cupped hands.

Exiting his shadowy form, Valiant held up the green orb forming in his hands, along it to erupt with glowing leaves that sailed towards their airborne target.

Staryu was ready for this, however, expelling a blast of cold, icy air from its glowing gem that intercepted the leaves. As the Icy Wind froze the leaves over, they were sent into freefall, unceremoniously descending down onto the battlefield, as Staryu prepared to land.

"Bubble Beam!"

Just before Staryu prepared to hit the pavement, its gem glowed yet again, a stream of bubbles propelling across the battlefield towards Valiant.

The Emotion Pokemon immediately flashed out of existence, appearing a few feet behind the starfish with another green orb at the ready. A golden cube surrounded the Water Type as the green projectiles approached.

Ash gazed at the current display as the leaves pelted against the golden barrier, leaving tiny cracks in their wake, only for Staryu to drop the cube the moment the assault was finished, Misty's next order making itself known.

"Winter Stream!"

Ash shivered unpleasantly at the familiar name, remembering the doom that it had spelt out for Pikachu. Thankfully, the ice-cold rush of water that escaped from the starfish's body was blocked off by Valiant's own golden cube. The Kirlia mildly shivered as he felt the frigid temperature of the blast, but remained unharmed.

Both Pokemon could block each other's attacks. Valiant could get out of sight with Shadow Sneak, but Staryu could deprive him of the means of a sneak attack thanks to using Rapid Spin to ascend into the air.

At this point, it would be a matter of who ran out of energy first if nobody could break the stalemate.

Was there any reliable way for Valiant to land a decisive hit?

"Rapid Spin!" Misty's next order came the moment Valiant dropped his cube, Staryu kicking its way off of the ground and swiftly barreling its now rotating body towards the Emotion Pokemon.

Simply dodging downwards or to the side wouldn't cut it against Staryu's spinning body, especially with the speed it was going at. Ash mildly bit his lip as Valiant once again flashed out of existence, appearing a few meters away on the battlefield.

If Valiant kept using Teleport, he'd wear himself down. But if he took the hit, it would have been worse…

Misty was grinning as Staryu circled around. "Thunderbolt!"

Valiant encased himself inside of another golden cube as Staryu stopped its spinning, body crackling with electricity, charging up the attack right before firing a blast of lightning from midair.

Staryu was really good with Thunderbolt, as Ash had learned from watching Misty's battle with Lily. It probably had a better handle on the move than Valiant himself, even if it still came more naturally to Pikachu.

Valiant braced himself, arms still extended forward as the bolt of lightning crashed into the cube. The shockwaves pushed against his body, the young Kirlia feeling mild static as the blast encased the cube itself, electricity seeping through the small cracks formed by the impact.

The Emotion Pokemon's skin was mildly singed as Valiant lowered his barrier, a hard gaze on his opponent as Staryu landed upright on the pavement.

If Thunderbolt was enough to put this much strain on Valiant's Light Screen, that meant that Misty had the advantage. He could switch Valiant out for Nebula, but what if Misty switched Staryu out as well? Now that she knew for sure that her Starter had the upper hand, she would probably just save the starfish for the Kirlia.

Misty seemed to be aware of Ash's predicament as she grinned excitedly. "Bubble Beam!"

Staryu's barrage of bubbles collided with yet another Light Screen, Ash chewing on his lip as the projectiles pelted the golden, cube-shaped barrier.

'Anything Valiant does will just get blocked.' the young rookie thought to himself. 'Staryu hasn't landed any true hits yet, but they're putting more pressure on us than the other way around.' The boy wracked his brain for solutions as Valiant's Light Screen dissipated, him and Staryu now in the middle of another face off.

His eyes made their way to Misty, who's fists were planted against her hips as she eyed him with a smile. In what he couldn't tell was a condescending or teasing gesture, the girl mildly tilted her head to the side as the two trainers stared one another down, her grin not leaving her lips.

At this rate, she could just keep the stalemate going until Valiant tired himself out, and then close in for the kill. Staryu would exhaust some of its energy as well, but, at this rate, would be in better shape. Both Pokemon could only use Light Screen so many times, and while Thunderbolt was likely a strenuous move for Staryu to use on repeat, it only needed to use it on occasion to ensure the extra pressure put on Valiant and his golden barriers.

Looking over to Valiant, the young Kirlia wasn't breathing hard… yet. There was still time to turn this in their favor, but they couldn't seize an opportunity unless it was presented to them.

The battle with Poliwhirl flashed back into his head. Valiant had defeated Poliwhirl with that reckless tactic, trapping both of them in Light Screen in order to deliver a powerful, fully charged Thunderbolt at point blank. No doubt such a tactic would cripple Staryu, who could easily block the blow with Light Screen if it was used from a distance, but would have no way of escaping from it at point blank.

But Valiant had injured himself with said strategy. It was a double edged sword that would ensure a painful shock for the young Emotion Pokemon as well.

'It's too risky.' thought Ash to himself. 'After all-'

As he brought his gaze over to Staryu, he suddenly stopped himself.

'...Wait…'

Ash didn't allow himself to grin. He almost did, but managed to stop himself at the last second. Misty couldn't know his confidence, or else this wouldn't work. And despite the excitement of the idea, he couldn't guarantee it just yet.

This was a gamble, but it was better than keeping things the way that they were right now.

"Valiant." Ash's face was as calm as he could manage as the young Kirlia soaked up his trainer's words. Ash pointed towards Staryu, and Misty's eyes widened at the command. "Teleport onto Staryu. Point blank Thunderbolt!"

Misty's breath momentarily caught in her throat as Valiant flashed away from his spot onto the battlefield, suddenly appearing on top of Stary, holding onto the starfish's back as the electricity gathering up in his hands rolled down the water type's body.

Ash could feel the sweat rolling down his cheeks as he watched with bated breath. And then-

Misty's eyes were flaring with determination. "I don't think so!" she barked. "Rapid Spin!"

Ash's eyes widened as Staryu leapt up and twirled in midair. Valiant cried out in displeasure as he was immediately flung off of the starfish's body.

But in a moment of good fortune, he did not stop charging the blast.

Valiant hollered in determination as he powered through the shock of his sudden flight and allowed the electric beam to erupt out of his hands. Still close to full power, the beam soared through the air and closed in on its target.

Seeing the bolt incoming, Staryu frantically surrounded itself in Light Screen, but didn't have nearly enough time to prepare the Move. The golden barrier that surrounded the starfish was weak and fragile, and although the blast of lightning was stopped in its tracks by its presence, it was not uselessly deflected away like it would have been otherwise.

A notable cry of pain escaped Staryu as severe cracks formed on the barrier, allowing large portions of the bolt's electricity to invade the safety of the cube. It wasn't the full brunt of the blast, but it was certainly a great deal of it.

Ash couldn't help the grin from forming on his face anymore, the triumph in his eyes impossible to hide.

Misty had done it! Unlike Poliwhirl, Staryu actually did have the means to escape from Valiant's grasp. But by using Rapid Spin to toss the Kirlia off… that also meant that Valiant didn't have to worry about being caught in the blast zone.

It wasn't the crippling blow to Staryu that it would have been otherwise, but the undersized Light Screen that the starfish had been forced to hastily erect could only fully block off a portion of the blast. This was still a big hit.

As Valiant neared the pavement, he braced himself for the impact, body dirtying as he painfully collided with the ground, rolling aaross for a few moments before stopping himself on both hands, and beginning to pick himself up.

He was breathing a bit hard now. No doubt the usage of Thunderbolt had worn him out. But he was in better shape than he would have been otherwise. The collision with the ground had done less damage to his body than being zapped by his own attack would have. He thankfully hadn't been that high up.

As Valiant rose back up to his feet and rotated his dirty and bruised body in his opponent's direction, the boy watched Staryu's landing next. The Kirlia's eyes were fixed with an even glare as the two observed Staryu crashing to the ground, struggling its way back up as its body emitted hot steam, tiny sparks of electricity occasionally cracking along its skin.

Staryu was worn out too. And more injured than Valiant. Which means that Misty could no longer afford to stall things out.

As her Starter did what appeared to be panting (Ash was having a hard time telling due to Staryu's lack of a face), a startled Misty brought her gaze over to Ash, her eyes lighting up as she caught sight of his expression. Ash couldn't hide his excitement, and she had realized what had happened too late.

After a few seconds of silence, Misty's shocked expression slowly altered into a wide grin.

"You...bastard!" Despite her choice of words, and the apparent anger in her tone, she was smiling uncontrollably, her pupil's as bright as a flame. "You weren't trying to hit us close up at all, were you?! You knew that we were gonna…" she trailed off as her voice quieted.

Ash could feel his heart racing from the adrenaline. It had actually worked! He couldn't help but lose himself in the excitement as he gazed back at his opponent.

"Can't say it didn't work, right?" there was no cockiness in his voice. Just ecstasy. Eagerness. Loaded with accumulating adrenaline.

Misty returned his gaze in full. Her blood was rushing as well. The fire in her spirit wasn't an angry one, like with her confrontation with her one burned much more enjoyably.

"You're gonna pay for that." she spoke with clear finality, the anger in her voice being replaced with uncompromising excitement as her grin practically split her face in half. "I'll have your head! Winter Stream!"

Grinning madly, Ash reveled in the adrenaline flowing through his veins as he called out to Valiant. "Dazzling Gleam!"

Now that Staryu was injured and worn down, there could be no more excessive defense. With both Pokemon now approaching their limits sooner rather than later, the war of attrition was now simply a war.

Staryu twirled its body as it gathered its strength, the frigid blast of water rushing out of its body and towards Valiant, who fired a large, pink beam from the glowing orb in his palms.

Freezing cold water splashed across the battlefield as the two attacks collided, Misty following up the moment the blasts exploded against each other.

"Rapid Spin!"

Staryu had already begun advancing in Valiant's direction immediately after it had finished off executing the aquatic combo, kicking off the ground upon hearing Misty's next order, twirling in the air as the starfish rocketed towards Valiant. The droplets of ice cold water splashed across its skin as it rushed through the aftermath of the collision, Valiant not reacting in time as the spinning water type socked the Kirlia in the face with one of its limbs.

A large gash was left on Valiant's cheeks as he tumbled across the pavement, stopping his roll and glaring up at Staryu (who was now standing back on the ground again) with a hand pressed against the ground as he picked himself up.

"Psybeam!" Valiant's eyes flashed at his trainer's orders. Magical Leaf would just prompt Staryu into using Icy Wind again, so Ash held off on that move.

His pupils glowing brighter and brighter, Valiant formed a rainbow ball in his palms, extending it into a bright beam that sailed towards Staryu, who formed a rainbow ball of its own at its gem.

Staryu fired the blast to intercept Valiant's attack, but the starfish's Psybeam hadn't gotten far enough from its own user as the two blasts exploded against each other. The concussive force of the collision painfully barreled its way into the mysterious Water Type, knocking it on its back as the front of its body was left bruised.

With Staryu knocked down, Ash saw his chance. "Finish this with Magical Leaf!"

Valiant raised his hands as another bright green orb formed between them. As the glowing projectiles erupted outwards, however, sailing through the air and towards Staryu as the Water Type attempted to pick itself up, the starfish encased itself in a weak, golden cube at the last second.

It wasn't able to manage anything more than a weakened barrier, however, still reeling from the prior shockwaves. As the leaves hammered against the golden cube, Staryu struggled to strengthen its defenses, all the while small cracks began to form on the barrier's surface.

Valiant was straining himself now, but grinded his teeth in determination as his eyes flashed once more, charging up a second Psybeam. Powering through the unpleasant strain, the Kirlia hollered out loud as he fired the psychic blast, which struck the weakened cube at full force.

A smashing sound echoed across the battlefield as the shield shattered, the shockwaves painfully sending Staryu skidding backwards, the mysterious starfish grinding its bottom limbs against the pavement to bring itself back to a halt at one of the far sides of the battlefield. The motions that the water type made with its body suggested that it was now breathing quite hard.

Looking over to Valiant, a concerned Ash could clearly see that the young Kirlia was also faring no better, his body bruised and dirty, and his face gashed as the young Emotion Pokemon panted and wiped some dirt from his glaring face. Although he had dished out more damage to Staryu than the other way around, he had also used up more power than his opponent had. Just lighting at full strength was enough to hurt at this point.

On the other side of the battlefield, Misty's face was glowing as she bared her teeth ecstatically. Eyes blazing with determination, she shouted across the battlefield as she held a fist up in front of her face.

"You can do it, Staryu!" her voice remained raised. "Let's see how you handle this, Ash: Use Swift! All over the battlefield!"

Ash inwardly perked up at that, remembering a similar tactic being used against Lily.

Hearing its trainer's words, Staryu kicked off of the ground and twirled into the air, flying through the arena with Rapid Spin as the barrage of golden stars erupted from its gem. The airborne starfish circled around Valiant, just above the Psychic's head, allowing the onslaught of projectiles to come at the water type's target from all directions.

Misty was probably expecting them to use Light Screen, but with his partner approaching his final reserves, Ash knew that he couldn't have Valiant take any chances with what would potentially be a weakened barrier. Shadow Sneak would be equally risky, as in addition to the strain that a prolonged use of the move would put on Valiant, the young Emotion Pokemon wouldn't be able to use it to get close to his opponent with Staryu still in the air.

As Tyrunt leapt up into the air and called out to Valiant in encouragement, Ash's grin remained as he hollered out towards the battlefield.

"You can win, Valiant! Use Magical Leaf while spinning!"

As the stars flew towards him from all angles, Valiant formed another bright, glowing green orb in his hands as he twirled his body around in circles. The leaves that erupted from the orb were fired in numerous directions with no rhyme or reason. The green projectiles collided with the golden ones, tiny explosions lighting up the arena as the two combatants unleashed their respective onslaughts upon one another.

Neither combatant was willing to give in, and perhaps the Pokemon were just as caught up in the excitement and adrenaline rush as their trainers were.

As the series of shockwaves pushed against the two competing pokemon, Misty shouted out to Staryu with cupped hands.

"Keep Rapid Spin going! Strike at him now!"

In response, Ash called out to the Kirlia. "Dazzling Gleam, Valiant!"

Staryu circled back around, remaining airborne as it barreled its way back in Valiant's direction. As the final few projectiles collided one another and the explosions began to cease, the starfish rocketed onwards as it closed in on the Emotion Pokemon, who was forming a bright pink orb in his hands as he held it up in Staryu's direction.

Staryu reached Valiant before the blast could be fired, the young Kirlia crying out loud as as the starfish roughly kicked him in the face with its leg, the speed of its flight and the momentum of its body's rotation carrying the limb forward to brutally smash into its target.

For the briefest of moments, the pink orb in Valiant's hands began to flicker away as the pain took hold, but it was back in the very next instant, glowing even more brightly as the battle-crying Kirlia took aim diagonally upwards and let the powerful blast loose, directly into Staryu's gem.

The impact was point blank, the explosion from the collision smacking Valiant in the face and propelling him downwards, forcing him face first into the pavement as Staryu, now screaming in pain, was blasted upwards above the arena.

Ash and Misty both finally felt their excitement die down as a large cloud of dust was briefly kicked up from the explosion, Staryu descending back down to the pavement in freefall, landing on its back with a definitive thud.

Silence overtook the battlefield as trainers and spectators alike took in the somber states of the combatants.

Not a punch had been pulled by either Pokemon or trainer. What had initially been a waiting game to see who would tire out first had transformed into an all out brawl of projectiles, resilience and resolve being tested just as much as endurance.

The end result was both Pokemon laying beaten on the pavement, the arena now shared by two unconscious combatants.

Ash could see Tyrunt gazing intently at Valiant, and was relieved that the young Kirlia's face wasn't visible from here. No doubt it wasn't a pretty sight.

Removing the Poke Balls from their belts, the two trainer's returned their fallen partners, the crimson beams of light sucking the two Pokemon back into the orbs.

Ash and Tyrunt both gazed fondly at the capsule after the young Kirlia was fully returned to it.

"You did wonderful, Valiant." A compassionate smile accompanied Ash's features as he clipped the orb back onto his belt. As if to agree with him, Tyrunt chirped happily in response.

"Thank you for your hard work, Staryu." Misty's grin was equally kind and grateful as she returned her Starter's Poke Ball to her own belt.

As the two trainers locked eyes once more, their grins gradually returned to their competitive states. Although the excitement had died down, the fire had not.

"Heh." Misty couldn't help the brief giggle that escaped her throat. "You really aren't slowing down, are you, kid?" her hand reached back to her belt as she pulled out her final Poke Ball. "Guess this is it then."

In response, Ash reached for his own final Poke Ball, nodding in affirmative at Misty's statement.

"It's been a lot of fun." he replied eagerly. He glanced down at the orb he was holding for just a brief moment, before returning his gaze back to Misty. Tyrunt eyed the orb with a tilted head for about a second or two, before bringing his gaze back out to the battlefield.

Misty's grin was honest, her features not quite reflecting the adrenaline going on inside as she simply responded in agreement to her friend's statement.

"Yeah, it really has."

Imn bright flash of white light, Prinplup appeared on Misty's side of the battlefield. Moments later, Nebula was in front of Ash and Tyrunt. The two birds took notice of each other immediately, pausing just long enough to glance back at their respective trainers (Nebula also eying Tyrunt for a brief moment), before their respective gazes were returned to each other.

As both Pokemon scrutinized one another, Ash and Misty's respective minds both began to put themselves to work.

Nebula and Prinplup both had a good deal of mutual respect for one another, ever since they had teamed up against the Team rocket horde back at Mt. Moon. Neither of them seemed to be hesitant about the battle, however.

Ash knew that Prinplup didn't quite have the versatility that Staryu packed, but he had a lot of power behind his attacks, his newfound Evolution no doubt being a great boon for him. He was also quite durable, and resilient to punishment. His Aerial Ace also gave him decent aerial mobility, even if it was obviously outclassed by Nebula's actual ability to fly.

This final round of the match would be a hard one, but Ash had faith in his feathered friend.

As Misty began to give some brief instructions to her own feathered companion, Ash nodded towards Nebula, who looked back towards him with a determined smile on her beak.

"Both of you are the last ones." Nebula's face steeled a bit at the revelation, but otherwise her expression did not change. "You have the aerial advantage, but don't take that for granted." Ash declared. At Nebula's nod, he smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Watch out for Prinplup's Icy Wind and give him everything you've got!"

Nebula raised her wings and lightly slapped them in response, Tyrunt offering her a light chirp of encouragement, which she happily returned in kind. As the trio turned their attention back to Misty and Prinplup, the hot headed water specialist allowed her smirk to return to her features as the rush of adrenaline waited to kick back into overdrive within both trainers.

"Hmph. Good, then we're going to finish this off right." the girl declared as she examined Ash's expression. Her grin went wild. "You better not disappoint me at the last second, Ash Ketchum! I'll skin you if you do!"

Ash's lips curled all the way upwards as he shook his head defiantly. "Wouldn't dream of it." He spared a glance at his bird companion, the Staravia raising her wings with flames in her eyes as she prepared to take flight. "Nebula! Get into the air!"

It only took a brief second for her to take off, rising above the arena as Prinplup's head tilted upwards, allowing his gaze to follow her.

"Aerial Ace and Brick Break!"

Prinplup's body encased itself in a white glow as he kicked off of the ground, one of his wings basking in a similar, pale light as he propelled himself towards the rising Staravia.

"Steel Wing!"

Relatively familiar with this tactic, Nebula crossed both of her wings together. Now encased in metal, the wings took the hit as Prinplup struck, his attack punching against the metal and sending Nebula higher into the air as he descended downwards. Nebula flinched from the force of the collision, and the metal covering her wings was dented, but as always, the usage of Steel Wing worked as the perfect shield.

As Prinplup landed clean on his feet, Ash followed up. "Wind Blast!"

Descending downwards just enough to properly take aim at her opponent, Nebula flapped her wings to kick up the blast of wind, which hurtled its way downwards towards Prinplup. In a similar vein to Nebula's own, the large penguin crossed both of his wings together, both of them now bathed in a glowing white light as they intercepted the blast. The double useage of Brick Break cushioned the impact of the blast, Prinplup mildly skidding backwards a few feet away, but remaining upright and unharmed.

Ash wasn't done, however. "Wing Attack!"

Just as the Wind Blast struck, Nebula blitzed downwards with Quick Attack, and Prinplup struck back just in time to intercept his opponent's glowing wing. Nebula's momentum carried her, however, and Prinplup hadn't fully adjusted from being pushed back by the Wind Blast. As the two wings collided, Prinplup felt himself falling backwards. Desperately, he opened his beak and expelled a blast of frozen air just before he hit the ground, but even with the close range, his aim was off, and Nebula was merely grazed (albeit still clenching her beak in pain) as she flew backwards to avoid the surprise Icy Wind.

As Nebula circled around, Prinplup quickly made his way back to his feet, once again coating his body in the white aura of Aerial Ace as his beak glowed and grew. Firing off of the ground once again, he maneuvered just above Nebula, before turning in the air and driving himself directly downwards in an effort to skewer her.

Nebula, however, coated her own body in Aerial Ace, speeding away from her opponent's strike as he turned himself around once again.

The major benefit of Aerial Ace was that even Pokemon who normally couldn't fly could still gain aerial mobility while using it. However, it was nothing compared to the actual ability to fly. You had to maintain the attack constantly in order to soar for long periods of time, which wasn't practical, so it was often used to fly in short bursts. Not to mention the movements were much more extreme than simple, traditional flight, with Prinplup speeding his way through the air and having to make sharp turns in order to redirect himself.

In comparison, however, Nebula's own, natural ability to take to the skies gave her much more reliable control over such a technique, her body being much more naturally accustomed to the experience, and her skills allowing her to make the sharp turns more easily, so her efforts to change direction were far more reliable even with Aerial Ace amplifying the extremity of her airborne movements.

Seeing the futility of continuing to chase Nebula, Prinplup dropped the aura of Aerial Ace and fired another blast of frigid air from his beak. This was aimed not directly at Nebula, but in the direction she was flying in. As prinplup descended back down towards the arena, nebula shrieked in surprise as the beam of frozen wind appeared in her path. Although she canceled out Aerial Ace with haste, her momentum was too great, and she couldn't completely stop herself in time to avoid the front half of her body being struck by the attack.

Ash watched with some concern as Nebula was propelled further above the battlefield, crying out in pain as the cold air assaulted her body and some of her feathers froze over.

"Break the ice off with Steel Wing!"

"Bubble Beam, Prinplup!"

Misty attempted to capitalise on the situation, as Prinplup opened his beak to let loose a barrage of glowing bubbles. However, as the projectiles made their way upwards towards Nebula, the Staravia coated her somewhat frozen wings in metal as she blurred towards the barriers. Her wings struck full force, the ice shattering as the bubbles missed their mark behind her.

"Great, now attack!" Ash called out, hoping to fight back before Misty and Prinplup could react again.

Pushing herself off of the barriers, Nebula kept her wings coated in metal as she blazed downwards with Quick Attack, rushing diagonally towards her target as Prinplup coated his own wings in Brick Break in an attempt to block.

Nebula was too quick, however, already upon her opponent as he attempted to cross his wings. Her own, metallic wing slammed clean into the penguin's face, sending him off the ground and a few feet backwards as she began to turn around.

However, as Nebula changed direction, Prinplup, powering through the pain of the blow that he was still reeling from, caught himself on one of his still glowing wings as he let loose a barrage of bubbles that rocketed after the retreating Staravia, who narrowly avoided them as her opponent picked himself up.

"Aerial Ace and Icy Wind!"

Ash's eyes widened at that. Misty was probably trying to get in closer so that Nebula would have a harder time avoiding attacks.

He grinned excitedly as Prinplup prepared to take off into the air. "Wind Blast!"

As Prinplup shot off of the ground, Nebula followed his movements as he rose above her, the aura of Aerial Ace canceling out as he fired the beam of frigid air downwards towards the bird.

Angling her body diagonally to face her opponent, Nebula flapped her wings with a competitive shriek as the wind picked up from her movements, her own blast of air meeting Prinplup's attack head on.

The Wind Blast easily pushed through the Icy Wind, seemingly absorbing the attack carrying the frozen air along with it as it rocketed upwards towards the surprised penguin. Ash felt his heart pumping as Prinplup cried out in unsuspecting shock, not only being slammed in the gut by the condensed beam of air that Nebula had sent his way, but also being assaulted by the freezing cold of his own attack.

Back at Mt. Moon, Nebula had combined her Wind Blast with the Icy Wind to use against Team Rocket's horde of Pokemon, having the forceful, condensed blast of air carrying the frozen air along with it. That same strategy applied here, with Wind Blast not only powering through Icy Wind due to having more brute force behind it, but also intercepting the frigid wind and merging with it.

Misty grimaced in frustration as Prinplup was blasted upwards, further above the arena, but her expression morphed into an impressed grin as she called out her counterorder.

"Aerial Ace and Brick Break!"

"Aerial Ace and Wing Attack!"

Both feathered combatants coated their bodies in the aura of Aerial Ace, Prinplup dive bombing down in Nebula's direction as the Staravia rocketed upwards to meet him. Their wings became coated in a similar pale aura as the two Pokemon met head on, a powerful shockwave let loose as their attacks collided.

Both birds felt a notable jolt of pain as their respective wings smashed into each other, but Prinplup had gravity on his side, and felt his momentum slowing down less quickly than Nebula's own. As the large, bulky penguin continued his descent downwards, Nebula yelped out in surprise as her wing was pushed back, sending her body twirling forward through the air, her flight momentarily out of her control. Prinplup continued flying downwards, making a sharp turn before he got too close to the ground in an effort to make his way back up.

"Double Team, one clone!" Ash's voice was frantic as Prinplup locked onto nebula once more, charging towards the Staravia with his wing still glowing.

Nebula regained her composure just in time, catching herself in the air and redirecting her flight as a second Staravia appeared beside her, the two splitting off in separate directions.

Prinplup was still heading towards the right Nebula, but the brief distraction caused by the clone's appearance cost him, Nebula taking the time to rush forward in his direction as his eyes widened in surprise. Just as he attempted to strike back, a glowing wing was smacked into his face, painfully propelling him towards the pavement.

Dust was kicked up as Prinplup rocketed back down towards the battlefield, his back colliding with the ground and sending him bouncing to the side as he cried out in agony from the impact. Ash saw his chance as the bulky penguin to pick himself up, the feathers adorning his body dirtied from the collision with the ground.

"Again!"

Nebula and her clone both circled around before dipping downwards, rushing Prinplup simultaneously from opposite directions as the penguin rose to his feet.

Misty was sweating as she realised the Water type's predicament. "Scald, quick!"

Ash inwardly grimaced at that. Prinplup may have been new to Scald, but the dangerous Move wasn't to be taken lightly.

Thankfully, he had the mild reassurance that Prinplup was forced to play the guessing game in terms of which Staravia to attack, with barely any time to make such a choice as both birds closed in on him.

Prinplup turned to the left and opened his beak, the small blast of boiling water cleanly intercepting the approaching flier.

Misty inwardly panicked as the Staravia fizzled out of existence.

Prinplup had no more time to act, the real Nebula now upon him, charging right into the bulky penguin as she drove a glowing wing into his stomach. The water type wheezed painfully as he was pushed back by the force, struggling (but still managing) to stay upright as Nebula retreated and prepared to circle back around.

Misty called out. "Icy Wind!"

"Aerial Ace, Nebula!"

The penguin growled as he fired another frigid blast at his opponent, Nebula's body cloaking itself in another white aura as she swerved to the side, expertly avoiding the attack as she closed in on Prinplup.

Before Prinplup could react, Nebula had lined herself up with him, blitzing forward beak-first into the penguin's side as he cried out in pain. The Water Type was sent rolling away from his attacker, the blow leaving a somewhat bloody wound on his hip as Nebula took to the air again, pausing her flight and flapping her wings just enough to remain airborne as she attempted to catch her breath.

Ash took the time to observe their opponent. Prinplup was on his knees, his head bruised and his side mildly leaking blood. There was also a mild bruise on his stomach as well.

All things considered, the penguin's durability was no joke. Nebula had been striking him at top speeds, not to mention the stamina that he had previously been using up in order to maintain Aerial Ace. Nebula's flight ability had carried her through this fight so far, but even then, Ash noticed the young Staravia taking a few mildly deep breaths as he looked upward to check on her. She had been exerting herself full force the entire fight, and getting hit by Icy Wind had undoubtedly spelt bad news for her.

Misty's face was one of concern as she looked over her partner, but her voice was encouraging.

"Prinplup! Nebula's tiring out too, you can still do this!"

As Prinplup rose to his feet, Ash and Nebula started as a deep-blue aura began to seep from his body.

Prinplup had taken a lot of damage by now, and-

The penguin's were wide open as his pupil's glowed with the powerful aura, the Water Type hollowing as loudly as his lungs would allow as he spread his wings outward, the newfound adrenaline surging through his body and lifting his spirits, wholeheartedly welcomed by the aquatic combatant.

Torrent had activated.

Ash's mind was racing now. Despite his injuries, Prinplup was undoubtedly rejuvenated by Torrent's activation, in the same way that Wartortle had been back at the foot of Mt. Moon. And now, with his Water Type Moves overflowing with power…

Misty's eyes were blazing with excitement as she stared at her partner in glee.

"Excellent! It's now or never, then! Bubble Beam!"

Nebula's eyes were wide as sausage as the barrage of bubbles blazed upwards in her direction. They were glowing far brighter than before, and moving far faster.

She swerved to the side to avoid the first, but a second stream of projectiles was already upon her. Instinctively, she crossed her wings together, coating them in metal to absorb the blow. Tiny shockwaves went off as the stream pelted against her wings, pushing her upwards as Prinplup kept up his assault. Just as the onslaught ceased, Nebula couldn't hold out anymore, her body suddenly finding itself flipped over by the force of the continuous impact, leaving her wide open for her back to be painfully pelted by the final few bubbles.

As Nebula hollered in displeasure, desperately trying to regain her balance as her body threatened to begin rolling through the air, Misty pressed on with a swipe of her arm.

"Scald!"

As Nebula attempted to right herself, Prinplup opened his beak and allowed a stream of boiling water to erupt from it. This one was much larger and more potent than the penguin's previous usage of Scald, and was significantly faster as it closed the distance between its suer and its target in a flash.

Nebula, having only somewhat regained her bearings, coated a wing in metal again in an effort to intercept the blast. Only using one wing this time, she found herself overwhelmed by the force of the attack, her wing being pushed back as the remaining water splashed onto her.

Ash's heart sank as he heard his feathered partner screaming in pain, no longer able to balance herself as her body fell to the pavement. In a desperate attempt to catch herself, she coated a wing in metal and attempted to thrust it into the ground. It shielded her from the impact, but she still found herself bouncing at the force of the collision, rolling along the arena as her body suffered the painful agony delivered to it by the Scald.

Ash felt himself gulping a bit. Prinplup's boost in power was absurd. And he had the versatility of Icy Wind and Scald to back him up. At this rate…

He shook his head quickly. There was still hope.

While Prinplup prepared to return his gaze back to Nebula, Ash called out to his feathered friend as the young Staravia began to struggle to her feet, her body painfully steaming from the boiling water that she had been blasted with.

She was fighting through the pain, but the lingering agony from Scald would surely inhibit her. She'd be reaching her limit soon, and she didn't have the power to contend with Prinplup now that his aquatic attacks were being amplified as much as they were.

But there was one way to change that.

"Reckless, Nebula!"

Prinplup's eyes widened at the order as Nebula rose her head to lock gazes with him, clenching her beak tightly in an effort to suppress the pain as her eyes flashed a familiar shade of crimson.

Red sparks rolled down her feathers as her body became outlined by a familiar, blood-colored aura. Adrenaline pulsed through her as the young bird rose to full height, throwing her head back and shrieking towards the sky as her wings spread out in full.

Still at Ash's side, Tyrunt took a step back, his spine shivering at the sound of Nebula's voice.

Misty seemed a bit shaken, but not surprised. "I warned you about this, Prinplup! She's a lot stronger now, but she won't be careful anymore! Hammer away at her!"

Standing tall, Prinplup took on a fighting stance as Nebula lowered her head and locked eyes with him once more, staring into his eyes, glowing with deep-blue aura, as he stared into hers, shining with crimson aura. Prinplup kept a focus stare on his adversary as Nebula growled, bordering on uncontrollable.

As the two birds faced off, Ash and Misty's spirits flared up once more as the situation began to set in for them.

This was the final moment. This was what would decide the match. The anxiety and excitement pulsed through Ash's blood all at once, leaving him in a confusingly contradictory state of adrenaline as he locked his gaze onto Misty.

Based on her smile, she seemed to be feeling the same way.

"I'm gonna win this one, Ash!" she held her fist outward, pupils still blazing. "Try to go down swinging!"

Ash was sweating, but the grin wouldn't leave his face as he shook his head, heart pounding in anticipation.

Before Prinplup could make a move, Ash had already called out to the Staravia. "We'll do a lot more than that! Wing Attack, full force!"

A cloud of dust was left in Nebula's wake as she kicked off of the ground, slipping into Quick Attack.

Prinplup had just enough time to raise a Brick Break in defense, but felt a borderline crippling pain in his glowing wing as Nebula's own collided with it. The penguin found himself crying out in surprise as the force catapulted him off of his feet, caught off guard by the momentum as he rocketed towards the barriers.

His back struck the barriers in front of Misty before either trainer could blink, but as Nebula began to advance once more, the bulky water type powered through the pain as his fight or flight responses took hold, a stream of bubbles blasting into the berserking Staravia just before she could decisively pound him in the skull with a second strike.

Nebula shrieked in pain and anger as the bubbles pelted her chest, fighting back against her momentum and sending her backwards through the air. As she righted herself and flew upwards, Prinplup pushed himself off of the barrier, clenching his beak in discomfort in an attempt to ignore the pain in his back and now-injured wing.

As Nebula took a position above the arena, she roared down to her opponent as Prinplup locked his gaze onto her, the look in her eyes murderous.

Ash began to consider Misty's options. She could go for an Icy Wind, but Nebula's Wind Blast would just propel it backwards. The same could potentially happen for a water type move. Now that Nebula was unleashing all of her reserves at once, Prinplup's Torrent ability was no longer too much for her to contest against. Nebula wouldn't have the self-preservation to avoid the attacks as reliably as she usually did, but she had more than enough power behind her to strike back.

He wanted to say that they had the advantage, but inwardly shook his head at that. Misty and her team had been matching him and his friends blow for blow since this battle started. He couldn't expect an easy conclusion after all of that. And he wouldn't.

On the other side of the battlefield, Misty was gulping a bit at the predicament, but it wasn't too long before her face had settled back into a grin.

"Heh, good going Ash. This was fun."

Ash raised a brow at that. Surely she wasn't giving up… No, the grin on her face said it all.

Misty raised her fists in front of herself, face positively glowing. "But we'll end it with a bang! Frigid Vortex!"

Ash froze at that. He hadn't heard of that technique before…

His gaze became fixed on prinplup as the penguin raised his wings into the air, still powering through the pain in the wing that Nebula had previously struck. Opening his beak wide, he expelled a stream of water that twirled and roasted into the air, continuing to flow out of his beak as it took the shape of a cyclone. Even as he did, frozen air accompanied the water, the rapidly spinning tornado of liquid turning freezing cold and filling up with chunks of ice.

Whirlpool… coated with Icy Wind.

Whirlpool wasn't an easy move for a beginner-level Pokemon to use, but no doubt Prinplup's Torrent ability was backing him up, allowing him to put more power into properly forming the technique. And by combining the Move with Icy Wind, the waters had turned to freezing temperatures, and the icy chunks were growing in numbers, slowly filling up the aquatic vortex.

The Whirlpool itself wasn't freezing over, but it was now a lethal cyclone, a frigid water, carrying ice chunks that would bash against any Pokemon that the aquatic tornado collided with. As the water spun, the ice spun with it, almost like a blender.

That feeling of anxiety and excitement was suddenly increasing.

He had no idea that Misty could use a technique such as this. Surely, it would be at the expense of all of Prinplup's remaining energy, even with Torrent activated. But it would all be worth it if Nebula couldn't power through. Misty knew that the Staravia was more likely to fight back head on than attempt to dodge, so she was going for her strongest strike possible.

Ash was wracking his brain, but knew he only had a few seconds at best. They had to fight their way through this trump card and deal the final blow… Would Double-Edge be enough-

The moment the Whirlpool reached its full size, now towering above Prinplup, Misty went for it, her arms stretched out wide, and her smile equally so as she fixed the impressive combo with an admiring gaze.

"You better be ready for this, Ash! I'm not gonna let you hear the end of it if you don't! Now, Prinplup!"

Even as Prinplup reared back to toss the Whirlpool in Nebula's direction, Ash's grin still split his face, his eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"You're gonna regret saying that! Full power Wind Blast!"

Prinplup sent the Whirlpool flying, the cyclone of freezing cold water propelling its way up towards Nebula as the young Staravia let out a mighty, determined battle cry, wings flapping madly as she let loose the most powerful blast of condensed air that she could possibly muster.

The aquatic tornado's advance began to slow as the two attacks collided, and Ash's breath caught in his throat as Nebula's attack drilled through the surface of Prinplup's. The beam of wind tore its way through the water, shattering the chunks of ice in its path. As the condensed wind blasted its way through the icy water, it came out on the other side, dissipating as Prinplup's attack was left with a hole blown through the icy cyclone, extending all the way from one side to the other before gravity took hold and caused the opening to fill with more frigid liquid. Some of the ice was blasted out of the Whirlpool, raining down on the battlefield, although the majority of it remained within the spinning water.

The Whirlpool was still advancing, but it was now slower, and destabilized. On the verge of falling apart, but not quite there yet.

Face sweating in anticipation, Ash reminded himself to breath as he cupped his hands to his mouth.

It was now or never. They had to finish this.

"Double-Edge!"

"Scald!"

Nebula roared in raging determination as her body became bathed in a blinding white light. The young Staravia practically looked like a beam of light herself as she charged downwards, descending towards the icy vortex at blinding speeds, before smashing right into it.

Cold water assaulted her body as she blazed through the Whirlpool, tearing through the water and obliterating the ice chunks in her path. Her momentum carried her. The power of her attack kept her going. All the while, her body was subjected to great agony as she plunged into the freezing liquid.

All of the pain and destruction lasted for a second, before she was on the other side, still hurting, still freezing cold, and still continuing her advance.

She was upon Prinplup the next second, the glowing penguin opening his beak to blast her with boiling water. The usage of the powerful combo had been taxing for his spirit, leaving him forced to regather his bearings before attempting another attack.

But it was precious time he did not have, and just as the blast of water was about to escape from his beak, Nebula had fully closed the distance between her adversary and herself.

SMASH!

The collision was brutal and without restraint. A cloud of dust exploded over the two combatants as Nebula slammed into Prinplup, forcing him back-first down onto the pavement. The shockwaves from the incredible impact spread the large dust cloud outward across the arena. The next instant, Nebula was propelled away, bouncing off of her opponent from the impact and landing painfully on the pavement.

As Nebula rolled across the arena, stopping on her stomach in an effort to prop herself up with her wings, the dust cloud covered her, now obscuring both combatants from view.

All the while, the rest of the icy water poured onto the arena, soaking the pavement in wake of the previous clash.

Ash, Tyrunt, Misty, and everybody else turned silent, none daring to say a word before the result was shown.

The adrenaline was gone, both on Ash's end, and Misty's as well. Only suspense remained, for it was all that either trainer had any room for in their emotions. The excitement and competitive energy had all been forced out.

It felt like it had taken years for the dust todispel, even though it was only for a few moments. Eventually, the dust cloud hadn't completely gone away, some of it still littering the battlefield in the aftermath, but enough of it had finally gone away in order for everybody to get a proper view.

Both combatants in the arena lay on separate parts of the arena. Nebula's crimson aura flickered constantly, the young Staravia sprawled out on her stomach as she attempted to push herself up with her wings. The panting bird briefly locked eyes with Ash, who took note of the constant flickering in her pupils, the blood-red light in her gaze constantly flickering in and out of existence.

As his gaze made its way over to Prinplup, Ash's heart skipped a beat. The penguin's eyes were closed. Lying on his back, with a massive bruise on his chest where Nebula ahd charged into him. His aura was completely gone, not even a flash to be seen.

It took a few moments for the situation to sink in before the feeling of victory surged through Ash's heart, the boy's face finally splitting into another smile as he almost ran across the arena to his partner, the barriers having dropped. A startled Tyrunt attempted to dash after him, the baby dinosaur's legs carrying him behind the young boy.

After reaching Nebula, Ash quickly knelt down on one knee in front of his feathered friend. The aura around her body was flickering a lot less often now, the energy slowly but surely fading away as he placed an affectionate hand on his Staravia partner.

"Nebula... that was amazing!" Ash struggled to catch his breath as he resisted the urge to hug his bird companion, knowing that it might make the pain that she was feeling worse. Nevertheless, the grin on his face was all that she needed for her mood to turn bright. "You're so awesome!"

The young Staravia lifted her head and returned his smile, even with the pain and exhaustion that mercilessly dominated her body. She let out a weak, yet happy chirp in response to his touch, closing her eyes for a moment before Tyrunt reached them. The bird and dinosaur exchanged happy glances for a second or two, before Nebula's eyes closed again, as Ash returned her to her Poke Ball, relieving the young Staravia of her agony.

Rising to his feet, Ash could feel the emotions surging through him. They had beaten Misty! Even after all the time they had to get to know her and see how strong that she was… even after that last attack she had used… they had won!

A tug at his leg brought his attention to a grinning Tyrunt, who Ash offered a happy thumbs up as the sound of footsteps entered their ears.

The duo looked over to see Misty approaching them. She had returned Prinplup without them noticing, and was in the midst of reclipping his Poke Ball back to her belt as she slowed to a stop.

Misty's expression was bittersweet as she halted in front of them. A small smile adorned her face, but her eyes showed a different emotion: disappointment.

As the girl came to a stop, she was finding it slightly difficult to look him in the eye, her pupils shifting downwards every now and then.

"Heh…" the water specialist started, a mild awkwardness in her tone. "You know, I… haven't had a battle like that in a long time."

Ash blinked at her, offering the other trainer a small, friendly grin as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Well… what about your sisters?" he asked carefully.

Misty snorted at that. "Pfft, I wasn't talking about difficulty, dimwit." finally mustering up the strength to make full eye contact, she extended her hand to him, her smile just barely growing as the expression in her eyes finally matched the rest of her face. "Besides, screw them."

Ash accepted her gesture, extending his own hand as the two shook for a split second and examined each other's grip. Misty's grip was firm, but Ash definitely knew that she was capable of more. He was gentle as normal, but had more firmness than usual. Just enough for the shake.

"WOOOOW!"

The two startled trainers separated and turned towards the others as Maria nearly collided with them, copper eyes glowing in almost as much excitement as they themselves had felt throughout the battle.

Lightly jumping up and down, Maria's smile was wide, and Ash and Misty both knew exactly what was coming.

"That was so awesome! So that's what big battles are like were two you just guessing what each other would do or did you predict each other's plans and how long does it take to teach your teams all those moves is it a big commitment and how much help are TMs for that oh and did you get your ideas for advance techniques from other trainers or did it just come to you naturally because honestly those were the best part I love how Nebula can just fire a blast of air like that I never thought of that kind of move being used that way oh and Misty your Staryu was so-"

Two hands covered the cute auburn haired girl's mouth as a sheepishly grinning Ryan approached her from behind, a smiling Grookey climbing up to his head as he addressed the two exasperated trainers.

"What my sister is trying to say is," he began as the girl continued to ramble from behind his hands. "You two were both excellent." he tilted his head in amusement. "I feel sorry for whatever poor trainer runs into either of you on the road."

Ash rubbed the back of his head at that, but although his grin was slightly awkward at the praise, he felt just a bit more proud than embarrassed.

On the other hand, Misty's mood was mostly restored, the girl flicking a strand of orange hair near her ponytail as a smug (albeit less than usual) smile adorned her features.

"Heh, you say that like it needed to be said." the girl responded. Ash started as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "No two-bit wannabe is gonna get in my way, and Ash would never offend me by letting himself lose to some no-named rando after beating me the way he did. Riiiiiiiiight Ash?" her voice was a bit too sweet for Ash's liking, and had an obvious, warning undertone to it.

The light, nervous giggle that escaped his throat conveyed his unease towards Misty's demand just a little bit more than he would have liked, but he took it in stride as he pulled away from her. "Don't worry, I'm not planning on it."

A wave from Laura caught everyone's attention as she and Rockruff approached Ash and Misty. Although her grin was nonchalant, there was a fair share of enthusiasm in her eyes as Rockruff approached Tyrunt, the brunette girl briefly eying the canine Pokemon as he began to play with the dinosaur.

"Heh, admit it Misty, you were just showing off with that last attack, weren't you?" she winked at her friend teasingly. "I'll bet you would have pulled that even if you hadn't been backed into a corner."

Misty didn't confirm nor deny the accusation as her smirk returned in full force, the trainer eying her friend with pride.

"Go on and try to make something better looking than that in your Contests." she challenged cheekily.

"Oooh, can you tell us how you pulled it off?" Maria chimed in, Ryan somewhat releasing his hold on her, but keeping his hands on her head just in case he needed to cover her mouth again. "Maybe if we knew where you got the idea from, we could come up with something for ourselves! Not that we'd completely copy you or anything!" she quickly added with an innocent smile.

Misty smiled back and nodded as she offered her friend a thumbs up. "I'll tell you guys about it later. It's a grand story."

Laura rolled her eyes. "Oh, worthy of its own JRPG?" she added on with sarcasm. She collapsed her hands together. "I'm sure we're all dying to hear it, but don't you think this poor cutie has waited long enough for his money?" she tilted her head towards Ash for a brief moment. "Victors get the spoils, you know."

Misty rolled her eyes at that, but nonetheless reached a hand into her pockets. Turning to face Ash, smiled apologetically as she pulled the money out. There was barely any.

"Heh, I kind of spent most of my last cash on the bicycle." she admitted in a somewhat sheepish tone. She held out her hand. "So I'm afraid this is all I can give you to commemorate our epic showdown." Her wording was dramatic, but her voice was casual.

Ash took the money and nodded in thanks. "It's fine." his smile widened a bit. "It really was a great battle."

Misty waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. Don't go getting too attached to it. It's nothing compared to the rematch we'll be having when I finally smash you into the cement. Just make sure your face stays unbruised till then, 'kay?" There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye at that, although the fire that accompanied it made it difficult for Ash to determine whether or not she was joking.

Nevertheless, he smiled back at her and nodded, offering her a thumbs up of his own. "Right, not a scratch." his attention was turned to Laura as the brunette put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure we'll be having questions for you too, you know." she nodded with approval. "Your team wasn't exactly lacking."

Ash smiled back at her as she released him. "Okay, I'll do what I can."

"Well, in that case." Ryan got everybody's attention as he released his sister. "How about we all go get something to eat after you two drop your teams off with Nurse Joy? I can pay for us, and we can go to a restaurant that serves Pokemon food, too." he reached up to pat Grookey on the head while gesturing to Tyrunt and Rockruff, who were laughing amongst each other while they roughhoused on the ground.

Misty wasn't going to say no to that. "You know I can't refuse." she smirked cheekily. Grabbing a mildly startled Ash by the arm, she made her way back inside as she pulled her friend along with her. "Come on Ash, let's go to the counter real quick. Can't keep everyone waiting."

Ash nodded at that, turning his head in Tyrunt's direction to call him over, only to see the dinosaur already following after them, saying goodbye to Rockruff with a quick wave.

/

The rest of the day lacked any real agenda. The group had gone their separate ways after the meal, Ash and Misty returning to the Pokemon Center to spend the remaining hours of the day in peace. Now that the previous excitement had died down, things were much more subdued and quiet between the two trainers, who simply went about their own business at their own pace.

The next morning, Ash and Misty picked up their newly rejuvenated teams from Nurse Joy, briefly meeting up within the others so that Ash and his team could say goodbye (after Ash called Delia to inform her that he was leaving for the road again).

Pikachu was noticeably sad to say goodbye to Laura, and Tyrunt was equally unhappy to part ways with Rockruff, but thankfully, both respectively had Nebula and Valiant to cheer them up, and Ash had ensured the two of them that they would come back to Cerulean at some point, although he couldn't promise when.

Before long, he and Misty were at the outskirts of the cities with their teams, each exchanging some final farewells before parting ways. Valiant's exchange with Staryu and Nebula's exchange with Prinplup were the ones that lasted the longest.

After returning their Pokemon (Tyrunt remaining out as usual) Ash and Misty were left with each other. The mood became uncomfortable as the two exchanged looks.

Misty tapped her foot against the ground as she eyed Ash with crossed arms. Ash returned her look, the awkwardness beginning to settle in for both, neither really sure what they were supposed to say.

"So, headed north?" she asked for confirmation, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Ash nodded as Tyrunt looked off to the road ahead that would take them out of the city.

"Yeah, probably just for a couple of days or so. And then it's onto Saffron." Thoughts of the city flashed through his mind. He had never been to Saffron before, but was anxiously anticipating it, after everything that he had heard.

"Have any plans for where you'll go from there yet?"

Ash shook his head. "Still working on that. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of each option."

Misty's response was an understanding nod as she approached him. Her voice was somewhat hesitant. "Welp, won't keep you for too long. I know you wanna cover as much ground as possible."

Ash offered her a relaxed grin. "Thanks for the battle. And everything, really. It's been fun."

"It really has." the other trainer agreed. Her smile turned somewhat smug. "If nothing else, I had someone to toast with after getting that badge from my sisters. You don't mind that being my favorite part, do you?"

Amused, Ash shook his head. "Not at all."

"Just take care out there." the girl declared. Her smile turned steel as she reached a hand out to him, some of the fire in her eyes returning once more. "And you better not go expecting me to lose next time."

Ash accepted her hand, matching her gaze with his own. "I hope you don't expect me to make it easy." He felt the fire in his own spirit return as they shook. It sunk in for him that they were no longer just fellow trainers who ran into each other. From here on out, he had himself another rival, one who would be a constant reminder for him to keep forging ahead. He accepted the challenge.

"Heh, just make sure you don't slack off, then. I want it to be satisfying when I win."

Her grip started firm, but became tight as she sent him a smirk. His response was to tighten his own, as if the two trainers were silently competing for dominance.

It didn't last long, however, and Misty's grin became more serene and legitimate as the two separated. She sent Tyrunt a friendly look and a wave. "Don't cause too much trouble, 'kay?" As Tyrunt returned her wave, she turned back to Ash, her tone becoming somewhat gentle, at least for her standards. "Really though, good luck out there."

Ash nodded with a bittersweet smile. "Same to you."

The moment hung for a decent bit, a mixture of bittersweet emotions and mutual respect. Finally, Misty broke it, slowly turning around as she offered a final wave.

"Well then, later."

Ash stared at the departing girl's back as he waved after her, the disappointment setting in. In the grand scheme of things, their time together really hadn't been very long, yet it somehow felt otherwise. Perhaps it was just because so much had happened. The boy realized that it would be hard to not associate this portion of his journey with her.

But even in her absence, Ash knew it wasn't going to be as simple as her just being gone. There was a bit of a finality in their farewell, a declaration of war. After all, they were still trainers. Competitors, at that. It wasn't as straightforward as just being friends, or people who briefly traveled together. In a way, every trainer was each other's adversary. She was just an opponent that he had gotten to know more.

Ash adjusted his cap as the water specialist disappeared from view. Their time in Cerulean was over. The next step of their adventure was waiting for them, and he didn't want to keep it waiting.

He glanced down at Tyrunt, and smiled sadly at the baby dinosaur's disappointed expression. Kneeling down, he patted the infant's head.

"I know you're sad, buddy. We'll see her again at some point. It just probably won't be for a while."

The Royal Heir Pokemon seemed to understand, at the very least. He offered the trainer a nod, a low rumble escaping his throat in acknowledgement.

Standing back upright, Ash scooped the baby up in his arm as he took out a Poke Ball. "Now, how about we get going?" at the dinosaur's reluctant nod, Ash activated the Poke Ball, their new bike appearing in a bright flash of light.

Looking over the vehicle, Ash was still surprised that he had one. He certainly hadn't been expecting too when he first got here.

It didn't take long for Ash to place Tyrunt in the basket as the trainer mounted the bike. "Let me know if I'm going too fast." at the dinosaur's nod, the boy began pedaling, and the city was left behind.

From here on out, the hurdles would only get bigger. But as the obstacles had amplified, so had Ash's resolve to see things through. And thankfully for him, his companions all felt the same.

The road ahead was rough and unforgiving, but as long as that fire continued to burn, any challenges that threatened to impede their progress wouldn't stand a chance.

The name "Miracle Cycle" is taken from the japanese version of the games, and is apparently absent from most localized versions, to my knowledge.

Character Profiles: Misty

Birthplace: Cerulean City

Occupation: Trainer

Best Friends: Maria, Laura

Hobbies: Studying marine Pokemon, Learning to fish, Riding bicycles, Swimming

Likes: Indulging in sweets, Battling, Training, Dreaming of her goals

Dislikes: Annoying people, Spending too much time with her sisters, Losing, Being coddled

Pokemon Profiles: Nebula

Trainer: Ash Ketchum

Caught At: Viridian Forest

Best Friend: Pikachu

Loyalty To Trainer: Strong

Hobbies: Carrying Pikachu in the sky, watching TV at hotel rooms

Likes: Exercise, downtime with teammates, listening to Ash's plans for the future

Dislikes: Battling wild Pokemon

Ash's Pokemon:

Pikachu (Male)

Nebula-Staravia (Female)

Valiant-Kirlia (Male)

Eevee (Female)

Tyrunt (Male)