Well, another chapter bites the dust. I hope you all enjoy this redux of this Diamond and Pearl episode, since I had a lot of fun writing this particular one. No surprise characters here (like Brad) just the ones that are supposed to be there, unless you count Misty, her Pokémon, and Charizard. xD Well, enough of my rambling, listen to theme and enjoy this chapter!
_
Chapter 14
Misty's POV
We had been on the road for a while now, we took a break at a milkmaid shop where Brock helped a certain girl named Autumn get her Miltank to listen to her. But I had to be honest; at times Brock could be just as dense as Ash. That girl quite clearly had a crush on Brock, but of course he tried for the older sisters. Autumn was by no means inferior to her sisters; kind of the way I was judged compared to my sisters, in fact, Autumn was a very pretty girl. But as usual, Brock was clueless.
And Dawn...Ash and I caught Dawn crying behind a shed, and I immediately knew what was wrong, she was still upset about losing the contest, and she was clearly having confidence issues. But Ash, still dense in certain things, just thought that Dawn had something in her eye. I had thought to myself: "He's a loveable idiot." He had inadvertently let Dawn off the hook, and she suggested ice cream, which Ash happily accepted. I had a little talk alone with Dawn afterwards, and I tried to encourage her as best I could. I hoped that she would feel better soon.
But right now, I was training with Ash and his Turtwig with my Vaporeon. It had recently learned 'Blizzard' during a battle with Brad from that unnamed town. I made a promise to Ash that Vaporeon would be well trained, and I was making good on that promise. As long as Ash was going to practice 'Energy Ball' with Turtwig, I was going to spar with him using Vaporeon. But I was beginning to think that Dawn and Brock were getting tired of watching.
"Vaporeon, use 'Shadow Ball'!" Vaporeon formed a ghostly ball of energy and fired it at Turtwig.
"Turtwig, 'Energy Ball' now!" Turtwig easily made the attack materialize, which brought up gasps of hope from everyone, myself included. But it dissipated before going very far. It was a good thing that the 'Shadow Ball' collided with whatever was left, or Turtwig would've been nailed. Ash audibly growled in frustration, and Turtwig groaned with disappointment. Ash changed his expression. "Hey, don't worry! Try it again!" he said.
"Ready when you are Ash!" I exclaimed. Pikachu announced his encouragement, and Turtwig regained his will.
"Come on you two, it's getting late, we should get going and try to get to the next town before it gets dark." Brock said.
"Oh come on Brock, we've almost got 'Energy Ball' down!" Ash exclaimed.
Since Brock had spoken up, I realized just how tired I really was, not to mention how grimy I felt. "Ash, I've been dying to have a nice hot bath and a good night's sleep! Maybe we could take the rest of the day off?"
Ash looked at me sympathetically, and nodded. "Well, ok Mist. I guess you're right, we'll get moving." I gave Ash a smile and returned Vaporeon to her ball. "We'll work later, ok Turtwig?" Ash said. Turtwig nodded, and Ash returned him to his ball.
"Ash and Misty are working hard, so we should too, right Piplup?" Dawn said. Piplup agreed, and gave Dawn a smile of encouragement.
"Come on let's go! I'm looking forward to a nice, hot bath at the next Pokémon Center!" I said excitedly.
"The problem is, there isn't a Pokémon Center in the next town as far as I can see." Brock said, searching through his guidebook.
My spirits dropped when he said that. Not that sleeping outside was so bad, especially since my sleeping bag was so close to Ash's, but I really wanted to take the wear-and-tear of life on the road off of my body with a shower. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Hey Brock, let me see that map." Dawn said. Brock handed Dawn the map, and she squealed with delight. "Look here! We can all go to a hot-spring!" Now she was talking, a hot-spring is just what a doctor would order, or at the very least, what a water-Pokémon trainer out of water would order. "I know about one near here that lets Pokémon in too!" Dawn explained.
"Sounds cool!" Ash said.
"Don't you mean hot?" I teased.
"How do you know there's a hot-spring near here?" Brock asked.
"Easy, one of my best friends happens to live at a hot-spring hotel!" Dawn explained.
"Alright then! Hot-spring here we come!" I grabbed Ash's hand and ran down the path, not wasting any time getting there.
Normal POV
"Dawn, please tell me they're going the right way." Brock said.
"They are. Sheesh, I knew Misty loved water but she could at least wait for us!" Dawn said.
"You don't know Misty that well yet, water is her life, and if she gets a chance to get in some, she'll take it." Brock chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
"Well come on! Misty's probably dragged Ash half-way there by now!" Dawn picked up Piplup, and ran down the path with Brock trailing behind.
Ash and Misty were now trudging down the path, leaning on each other for support. They had tired themselves after battling so long, and it allowed Dawn and Brock to catch up to the tired couple. "Well, a little over-zealous were we?" Brock teased. Ash and Misty gave Brock an icy-glare, and continued trudging along.
"No need to worry guys! There's the hot-spring now! And there's my friend!" Dawn ran along the path to greet her friend, and with newly renewed energy, Ash and Misty followed, with Brock, as usual, bringing up the rear. "Leona!" Dawn called, waving at her friend.
Leona's eyes widened at seeing her old friend. "Dee Dee!" she squealed.
There was a difference to how Leona said it, there was no sarcasm behind it, and she was quite friendly. But Dawn didn't care at all, as she stopped abruptly and screamed. "Oooh! Please, I've had just about enough of that name!"
Leona brought her hands up defensively and apologized. "It's been such a long time; it's great to see you!"
"It's great to see you too, how's the hot-spring hotel biz?" Dawn asked.
"Um, well to tell you the truth, it's been a little slow. But hey, I saw you competing in one of your contests the other day!" Leona said, changing the subject. Dawn groaned and forced a grin. "I'm sorry you lost, but no need to worry! You'll win the next one and when that happens we'll all be there to cheer you on to victory!" Leona said encouragingly.
"I-I'm afraid my next contest isn't going to be for a while." Dawn said hesitantly, "You see, I'm taking a little break."
"Really? That's a surprise." Leona said.
"And what better way to relax than to take a dip in your hot-spring, and you know our Pokémon have to be feeling the same way too!" Dawn held Piplup up to her friend.
Leona tried to say something, but Misty had cleared her throat to try and get Dawn's attention. "Aren't you gonna introduce us to your buddy already?" Ash asked.
Dawn smiled with embarrassment. "Hey, sorry guys. I want you all to meet Leona, my best friend since way back when we met in Kindergarten!" Dawn said, "Say hello to my friends: Brock, Ash, and his…girlfriend…Misty." Dawn said, whispering the word "girlfriend", hoping that they didn't hear her. Her hopes were dashed, as Ash and Misty gave her a growl that could make a Gyarados quiver with fear.
"Um…hello there, I'm afraid you've caught me while working at being a Pokémon trainer." Leona said, slightly nervous by Ash and Misty's growls.
When Leona mentioned Pokémon, Ash immediately got excited. "Awesome! That's just what I'm doing! Hey I know, let's have a battle!"
"A battle sounds great!" Leona said excitedly, but she then covered her mouth with her hands, as if she was trying to push the words back into her mouth, "Oh, the thing is, I really don't have time for that right now." she said apologetically.
"Aw man." Ash groaned.
"It doesn't matter Ash, we're not here for that anyway." Misty said.
"That's right; we're here to go relax in Leona's hot-spring!" Dawn exclaimed.
"But Dawn, I…" Leona was cut-off.
"C'mon guys! Let's go get changed and splash right in!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Brock walked into the hotel, leaving Leona alone.
After the group got changed into their swimsuits, they, along with all of their Pokémon, ran to the hot-spring and gasped at the beautiful sight. "Wow, look how pretty it is!" Misty exclaimed.
"The healing waters in this hot-spring are supposed to be good for whatever may be ailing you no matter what!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Awesome! I guess that means the water will help take care of the leftover soreness from the whole Unown situation." Ash said.
"Uh, let's just try to dwell on the good things, like the scenery, ok?" Misty said, not wanting to dwell on past events.
"Let's see if the water matches the scenery!" Ash said. Ash leaped into the water, ready to feel the hot water start to heal his fatigue and soreness. Piplup and Azurill, who were just as eager, also hopped in. The other three humans quickly followed, but they were caught in an awkward moment when the water barely reached their ankles.
"Um…did I jump in the kiddy pool or something?" Misty asked awkwardly.
"This is it?" Dawn wondered aloud.
"It's shallow." Brock said.
"And it's cold." Ash added.
Leona came running in through the back gate, apologizing for the issue with the water. After a quick wardrobe change, Leona explained her situation. "I guess you can tell how embarrassed I am right?" she said with a nervous laugh.
"What's wrong with the hot-spring Leona?" Dawn asked, trying to put her friend at ease.
"Last week, out of nowhere the water just stopped flowing. The source of the hot-spring is located at the top of that mountain, and the water flows down through a huge pipe running down the mountainside. And when it stopped, Mom and Dad went to investigate." Leona explained.
"I guess that would explain why you're here all alone." Misty said.
"You're right, I really wish you could check out for yourselves how relaxed and refreshed our hot-springs can make you feel, but I'm afraid that if things don't change for the better soon, we'll have to shut down for good." Leona said with a sad smile.
"No way!" Misty yelled suddenly.
"Huh? What is it?" Leona asked in shock.
"As a water-Pokémon trainer, I'm making it my mission to find out why the water has stopped flowing and fix the problem!" Misty yelled determinedly.
"As a matter of fact, I was getting my Swinub on the case right when you showed up! They were going to look for another hot-spring to tap into!" Leona said with a change of spirit.
"Swinub huh?" Dawn said, pulling out her Pokédex.
"Swinub, the pig Pokémon. Swinub love mushrooms that grow under the dead grass, searching for them by smell, and often finding hot-springs in the process." her Pokédex said.
"I get it! Your Swinub can find another hot-spring naturally!" Brock said.
"That's right!" Leona said.
"I know who can help out too! Come on Vaporeon!" Misty exclaimed, calling out her newest Pokémon.
"What are you gonna do with Vaporeon Misty?" Dawn asked.
"Since Vaporeon loves clean and fresh water, maybe she can track down some, and what's fresher than a hot-spring?" Misty explained.
"Good point Mist!" Ash said.
"We'll all help Leona!" Dawn said.
"Thanks everyone, let's get going!" Leona said excitedly.
Leona's three Swinub, along with Vaporeon, started sniffing around to track down water. After a while, Vaporeon ran off in the direction of whatever it sensed. "Vaporeon, where are you going?" Misty asked.
Just as she asked that, Leona's three Swinub took off in the same direction as Vaporeon. "They must've found a hot-spring!" Leona exclaimed.
"Hey, that was easy!" Ash said happily.
They followed Vaporeon and the Swinub to a spot behind some trees, and they announced their arrival with a loud cry. "You found something Swinub?" Leona asked.
"They must have! Look up there!" Brock pointed into the sky.
"It's steam!" Ash said.
"Mmmm…that's definitely hot-spring water!" Misty said, sniffing the air.
"How can you tell Misty?" Ash asked.
"Come on Ash, you don't know by now? Water is my life and I know what I'm smelling is hot-spring water. It smells great!" Misty explained.
"Come on, let's go see!" Dawn exclaimed. They ran to the source of the hot-spring expecting it to be untouched, but they were shocked to see blockades everywhere and a billboard that was announcing the building of a new hotel.
"The hot-spring's already been dug out!" Ash said.
"I guess we're a little too late." Brock added disappointedly.
They looked over and saw who was behind it, three very suspicious looking diggers. "Alright kiddies, dis ain't no sandbox, we've got woik ta do! So move your juvenile keisters to another spot!" the shortest worker said.
"Excuse me, but that's my hot-spring hotel down the mountain, are you saying that this hot-spring construction belongs to you three?!" Leona asked angrily.
The worker sweat-dropped, before his two helpers came to bail him out. "You are perceptive!" the girl said.
"And I'll have you know we worked hard to spring this spring!" the other man said.
Backed up by his two friends, the short worker regained his composure and pointed his finger accusingly at the group. "See, we've been doing more digging dan a bunch of music lovers at a rock concert!" he said.
After a quick explanation as to how they found the water, Leona began to grow more suspicious. "Hold on a sec, I know our hot-spring water like the back of my hand! The way it smells and looks, and this water's the same!" Leona bent down and felt the water, only making her surer that her theory was correct. "I knew it! It feels the same too!"
"Swi nub!" (She's right!)
"Obviously, your Swinub agree with you." Dawn said.
Leona turned her attention toward the three workers. "I'll tell you what I think; I think you tapped into our pipe without permission!" Leona screamed accusingly.
The short worker said something, but he was quickly hushed by the taller workers. "And what was that about?" Misty thought suspiciously.
"So…taste, touch, and feel are fine, but let's see you produce some positive proof!" the female worker challenged.
Leona noticeably lost some of her fire, but she didn't back down yet. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. Show me where your hotel's name is written on the water. Proof of liquid ownership! Then, and only then, will I adhere to your ridiculous ranting!" the female worker cackled triumphantly.
"But…how do I do that?" Leona asked.
Misty, being the water expert that she was, pointed something out. "You know…as much as it pains me to admit it, but water flowing from different sources on the same mountain just might smell and feel pretty similar."
"What are you saying Misty? That these creeps are telling the truth?" Ash asked.
"I didn't say that! I think they're lying, but there's no way we can prove it like this!" Misty replied.
"At least one of you gets it! You're lucky your faceless accusations don't land you in juvenile court! You've got some nerve!" the female worker said conclusively.
"Opportunists!" the taller man mocked.
"Now get outta here before we have to give you five a spanking!" the female screamed angrily.
The group walked away dejectedly. "Phew, that was close." the taller man mumbled as they left.
Ash, Misty, Dawn, Brock, and Leona all started the walk back to the hotel. "I guess…the hotel is history." Leona said sadly.
Misty grabbed Ash's hand and held him back. "Ash…" she said softly.
"What is it Mist?" Ash asked.
"Those three were lying! I could tell by the way they tried to cover up their tracks, and when they quickly shut up that short guy, it had to be because he was going to fess up or something!" Misty explained.
The other three, who had heard Misty's explanation, walked over to complete the circle. "So, what do you intend to do Misty?" Dawn asked.
"I wanna take another look around! That was just a hot-spring that they dug out, but it wasn't the actual source!" Misty exclaimed.
"You have a point Misty, but there's no way we'll get all the way up there." Brock said.
"Oh yeah? You're forgetting that I have a one-Pokémon transport! Charizard, I choose you!" Ash tossed a Pokéball, and Charizard roared upon his release.
"And we can use Vaporeon so we have a sensor to go by!" Misty said.
"What do you want us to do?" Leona asked, getting back into it.
"Go keep an eye on those three bozos at their hot-spring, keep out of sight!" Misty ordered.
"Good luck you two!" Brock said.
"Thanks. All right Charizard! Let's fly!" Charizard opened its wings, and flew high into the sky.
"You really think they can find the source?" Dawn asked.
"Maybe they can't, but I bet Vaporeon can." Brock explained.
"Well as long as they're not giving up, I'm not giving up either!" Leona said determinedly.
"We're with you Leona! Let's go spy on those boneheads!" With that being said, Dawn led Brock and Leona back towards the spot of the new hot-spring.
"Try to stay out of sight of those three workers down there Charizard." Ash said. Charizard gave a nod and flew higher.
"Alright Vaporeon, you remember the smell of that water right? If you smell something, let us know." Misty said.
"Va po!" (Got it!)
Ash's POV
We flew up the mountain on Charizard, with Misty's arms wrapped around my waist for balance. It was great to have two of my friends back, especially Misty and the feeling of coziness she brought with her. But I couldn't dwell on that now; we had a job to do. "Va va po!" (I smell something!) Vaporeon suddenly cried.
I looked around and noticed something floating down the river, which Vaporeon had confirmed as hot-spring water. "Charizard, let's go down and see what that is!" Charizard acknowledged me, and we landed a little bit ahead of the object, or as we would soon find out, a Pokémon.
"Look Ash, it's a Wooper." Misty said.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Remember the Wooper Daycare back in Johto?" Misty asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, that was tons of f –" My reminiscing was cut short when I spotted something strange, "Misty; does that Wooper have something around its tail?"
"It looks like a collar or something."
"Pika pika pi pi ka chu!" (It's a Pokémon tracker!)
I was a little confused on how Pikachu would come to that conclusion, but Charizard and Vaporeon had nodded the same. "Pikachu, how can you tell?"
"Pi pi pi ka chu." (It's a Pokémon thing.)
"Ash, if it's a tracker, then someone had to put it in the river to see where it led!" Misty concluded.
Misty was probably right, but we had to see the source first. "C'mon Mist, we've gotta follow the river! Maybe we'll spot the source, or whoever put that Wooper in the water!" Misty gave me a determined nod, and we hopped back onto Charizard. "Charizard, we've gotta find the source and fast!" Acknowledging my urgency, Charizard took off quickly. I pulled out another Pokéball, and called out Staravia. "Staravia, go find Dawn, Brock, and Leona and tell them we're on the trail, but make sure you're not spotted by those three workers!" Staravia nodded, and flew off in the direction of the fake hot-spring.
Misty's POV
I made sure to keep a tight grip on Ash so I didn't fall off, as Charizard was now flying faster than before thanks to Ash's encouragement. I knew right away that those creeps were lying, but if I had said anything beforehand, it would've been my word against theirs, and that always ends in stalemate. But a little private investigation wouldn't hurt, and it was a good thing we did too! Because now we had a clue thanks to Vaporeon sniffing that river and Ash spotting the Wooper. Vaporeon suddenly became restless, and started pointing downwards. "Vaporeon, you found the source?" Vaporeon nodded, and pointed at a huge spring with a large pipe inside of it.
"That must be the pipe to Leona's hot-spring!" Ash exclaimed.
"Ash, that Wooper was headed towards another part of that same pipe! If we spot the Wooper again, we'll be able to see where the water's going!"
"You heard her Charizard, let's go!" Ash ordered. With that, flew off back to where we were before.
Normal POV
Staravia had arrived at her destination, and explained to the trio of spies that Ash and Misty were hot on the trail of what happened to the hot-spring. "They saw a Wooper in the river? I wonder…" Leona paused.
"What is it Leona?" Dawn asked.
"My mom and dad have a Wooper that they took with them, I wonder if it could be the same one." Leona replied.
"If it is, then it's proof that those three down there really are tapping into your hot-spring." Brock said.
"Let's keep an eye on that pipe; we may be having a little visitor soon." Leona said.
Meanwhile, Ash and Misty had found the main section of the pipe. "Misty look, there's a smaller pipe coming off of Leona's!" Ash pointed out.
"You're right Ash, and look over there! It leads to the same area that those three crooks are!" Misty added.
"That settles it! They are stealing the water!" Ash said angrily.
"That means that the Wooper will show up in their hot-spring!"
"Gun it Charizard, we've got thieves to expose!" Ash yelled. Charizard roared and flew faster.
Back at the hot-spring, the three workers were stopping for a bit of lunch. "Ahhh, dere's nuthin like a bit of grub in your belly ta give ya an energy boost." the short one said.
"And after the twerps showed up, I'm more than famished!" the girl said. Suddenly, they heard a splash in the water, and they saw a Wooper floating in the hot-spring, and three very irate kids running towards them.
"It's a Wooper! And it has something on its tail!" Brock said, picking up the Wooper and examining its strange accessory.
"I knew it! That is the same Wooper that belongs to Mom and Dad!" Leona screamed angrily.
"Is that Leona?" a male voice asked.
"I think so dear." a female voice replied. Everyone turned around and spotted Leona's mom and dad standing by the pipe. "It is Leona!" Leona's mom said cheerfully.
"Wow, what a coincidence." Leona's dad added. They greeted her in unison, and Leona happily greeted them back. "So Leona, what are you doing all the way up here?" her dad asked.
"Probably the same thing you are!" Leona said.
"Your dad and I were right in the middle of giving the pipe a good once-over to see if there was a leak somewhere." her mom said.
"There's a leak alright!" her dad said.
Just then, Ash and Misty appeared over the horizon on Charizard. "We were right! It led us right to this hot-spring!" Misty screamed angrily.
"Look down there; it must be Leona's mom and dad!" Ash said.
"Come on down you guys!" Dawn called.
They landed, and Ash thanked Charizard and Staravia before returning them to their Pokéballs. "We were right! We found a Wooper with a tracker on its tail and it led us here!" Misty explained.
"That was our plan! We had it go right into the pipe to see where it went!" Leona's dad said.
"That's means you three were lying! You knew it was our hot-spring all along!" Leona screamed.
"Looks like this court sides with the twerps!" the female said nervously.
The three workers knew they were now busted, so they tossed of their uniforms to reveal none other than Team Rocket.
Jessie: "But we object of course!"
James: "You're twerps, consider the source!"
Jessie: "On the wind!"
James: "The stars!"
Meowth: "Da boss!"
Jessie: "Bringing chaos with a spring in our step!"
James: "Dashing hope with vigor and pep!"
Jessie: "A spring by any other name is just as hot!"
James: "We need to relax; we want what you've got!"
Jessie: "Jessie!"
James: "Jolly James!"
Meowth: "Meowth's da name!"
Jessie: "Putting me at ease and you in your place!"
James: "We're Team Rocket!"
Team Rocket: "In your face!"
"Wobbuffet!" (Yeah!)
"Mime mime mime!" (Yeah!)
"Uh…they're…an interesting group, that's for sure." Leona's dad said.
"And they seem like a lot of fun!" her mom said naively.
"Maybe to you!" Dawn screamed angrily.
"Team Rocket is really a group of criminals who steal Pokémon!" Misty explained.
"Criminals or not, you three are gonna fix our hot-spring and get it back the way it was!" Leona screamed.
"Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" Jessie said non-chalantly, "Meowth dear, give them a shower they'll never forget!
"Ya want water? Here's a flood! Presenting da Bada-Bing-Supreme-Soaker number six!" Meowth yelled, pushing a button on his remote.
"Strange how we didn't stop after five." James said with a sweat-drop. The rocks suddenly parted, and a giant mecha appeared, and fired hot water at the feet of the group.
"Look out!" Brock yelled.
Ash leaped in front of Misty, taking the majority of the hot-water soak for her. They retreated before getting soaked again. Pikachu turned around, sparks flying from his cheeks. "Pikachu, nail 'em with a 'Thunderbolt'!"
"Ash, wait! With everyone soaked like this, that 'Thunderbolt' will hit all of us!" Misty screamed.
"You're right, try an 'Iron Tail' instead!" Pikachu's tail glowed and became as hard steel as he tried to do some damage to the robot, but Pikachu slipped on the robot's wet exterior, and contact was never made.
"Anything that slips up a twerp certainly works for us." James said smugly.
"Dis Bada-Bing baby's so slippery from all dat water on the brain dat it's slicker dan a Psyduck's back!" Meowth exclaimed.
Misty's Psyduck randomly popped out of his ball upon hearing his name. "Psy…duck?" (Who…me?)
"Get back in your ball! He wasn't referring to you; he was referring to a slick Pokémon!" Misty screamed, returning Psyduck.
"Hey Leona, do you remember our Kindergarten days? Think back to when we worked together to beat that bully!" Dawn said.
"Of course!" Leona replied.
"No need to worry!" the two friends said in unison.
"Swinub, use 'Dig' quickly!" Leona exclaimed. The three Swinub dug a hole, leaving a confused Team Rocket to wonder what they were up to. The Swinub emerged from underneath the foot of the mecha, and knocked it off balance. It spilled water all over itself, causing the mecha's body to heat up to an extremely hot temperature. "It's all yours Dawn!"
"Right, leave it to me! Buneary, use 'Ice Beam'!" Dawn called out her rabbit who fired a freezing cold beam at the mecha, and out of instinct, Misty's Vaporeon launched a 'Blizzard' attack to help things along.
"Awesome! Flash-freezing that thing while it was still hot caused the metal to form all those cracks!" Brock explained. The mecha shut down, and fell onto a terrified Team Rocket that was sent blasting off again.
"Bada-bing then bada-boom and bam!" James said randomly.
"Bing-bang-boom and then zoom then wham!" Jessie added.
"Our Supreme-Soaker-Bada-Bing sure made a big blam!" Meowth added.
Jessie stopped the rhyming game on a bad note: "Are you aware of the end result of this like I am?"
They groaned before screaming: "We're blasting off again!"
*Ping*
"We did it!" Dawn and Leona said in unison.
"Those were some really good combinations." Brock said.
"Yeah, awesome!" Ash added.
"Hmmph, no respect for helping out." Misty mumbled, pouting.
"You did good too Mist." Ash whispered. Misty's face brightened at that.
"Now you promise you'll all stick around and try our hot-spring!" Leona's mom said.
"Yes, we insist! As soon as I get that pipe fixed!" her dad added.
"You got it!" Ash agreed.
LATER
"Now about that battle, how about a little tag-team workout before we take a dip?" Leona offered.
"Yeah! Now you're talkin'!" Ash said excitedly.
"And what better tag-battle partner for me than Dawn?" Leona said.
"Awesome! I'd love to!" Dawn replied, happily accepting the invitation.
"So how about we show those ladies a thing or two?" Brock asked determinedly.
Ash was about to accept, until Misty interrupted and cut in between. "Forget it Brock, I wanna tag-battle with Ash! Besides, you have to be the ref!" Misty said, dragging Ash by the hand.
"Sometimes it's rough being the oldest." Brock moaned.
Ash and Misty positioned themselves on one side of the field, with Dawn and Leona on the other.
"Ready Swinub?"
"Ok Piplup, you ready too?"
"Misty calls Vaporeon!"
"Chimchar, I choose you!"
"Alright, now that all the Pokémon have been chosen, let the battle begin!" Brock exclaimed.
"Swinub, now! Use 'Tackle' on Vaporeon!" Leona ordered, getting the first attack. Swinub ran towards Vaporeon to tackle it.
"Dodge it Vaporeon!" Misty countered. Vaporeon shifted over, and Swinub slid on its side after missing the attempted tackle.
"Piplup, use 'Peck' on Chimchar now!" Dawn ordered.
"Quick, Chimchar, use 'Scratch' on Piplup now!" Since Chimchar was faster than Piplup, the 'Scratch' attack struck Piplup, and it landed next to Swinub.
Dawn and Leona looked at each other with determination; there was no way they were backing down.
"Piplup, use 'Bubblebeam' on Chimchar!"
"Swinub, use 'Ice Shard' on Vaporeon!"
The attacks were launched simultaneously, and were about to make contact until… "Dodge it!" Chimchar and Vaporeon easily dodged the attacks, and now it was Ash's turn to make a move.
"Chimchar, use 'Flamethrower'!" Chimchar spewed a powerful flame from its mouth, that would've hit both Piplup and Swinub, but the two girls told their Pokémon to dodge the attack, which they did, but Ash wasn't through yet. "Chimchar, use 'Flame Wheel' on Swinub!" Chimchar charged toward Swinub, who would've been hit dead-on, but everyone was surprised when Piplup jumped in front of Swinub to take the hit itself. The attack supposedly made contact, but when Chimchar stopped spinning, both Piplup and Swinub had vanished. Chimchar looked down and the ground he was standing on suddenly threw him off. "Chimchar, no!"
"They used the hole that Swinub dug to dodge!" Leona exclaimed.
Now that Chimchar was off guard, it was their chance. "Piplup, use 'Whirlpool' on Chimchar!" Dawn ordered. Piplup launched a giant whirlpool at the flaming monkey, that should've nailed it, but Vaporeon jumped in front of Chimchar and took the attack, leaving Chimchar unharmed, and Vaporeon with a health-refill. "What happened?" Dawn cried.
"That's Vaporeon's special ability of 'Water Absorb' for ya!" Misty explained.
"Fine, let's see Vaporeon take this on! Piplup use 'Peck' on Vaporeon!" Piplup charged towards Vaporeon, who dodged the attack.
"Ah ha! Swinub use 'Ice Shard' on Chimchar!" Leona ordered. Swinub fired a shard of ice that hit Chimchar and melted on his body, leaving him soaking wet.
"Those two are getting to be a pretty good team." Misty said.
"Duh, what do they expect from two young warriors who got their training on the playground?" Dawn said confidently.
"You got that right Dawn!" Leona agreed.
"Oh yeah? Well Misty and I make a pretty good team ourselves!" Ash said.
"No doubt there, but let's see you top this! Swinub, use 'Blizzard' on both of them!" Leona ordered.
"You wanna play in the snow?! Fine! Vaporeon, you use 'Blizzard' too!" The two 'Blizzard' attacks were fired, and the air was filled with a mini-snowstorm. Ash shielded Misty from the freezing snow, while Dawn and Leona merely turned their backs. When the snow finally cleared, four completely frozen Pokémon stood on the field.
"All four Pokémon are unable to battle! It's a tie!" Brock announced.
"Aww, we were just being nice, that's why." Dawn said.
"Hey you two, thanks for giving us a great battle!" Leona said.
"Nah, thank you." Ash replied.
"You and Dawn make a really good team." Misty added.
"And we all know what a team you two make." Dawn said with a wink. Both Ash and Misty turned a bit pink at that remark.
"Hey Dawn, now's the perfect time to get a sample of our great hot-spring! It's the least we can do for our frozen Pokémon." Leona suggested.
"Yes! Finally I can enjoy that water!" Misty exclaimed happily.
"Me too!" Ash added.
"Come on Ash, what are we waiting for?!" Misty grabbed Ash's hand and ran towards the hotel.
"Pikapi! Pikachupi! Pika pika chu!" (Ash! Misty! Wait for me!)
"We can't let those two get there first! Come on, let's hurry!" Dawn exclaimed cheerfully. The other three humans grabbed the still frozen Pokémon, and rushed to the hot-spring to enjoy a long-desired soak.
After getting changed, the group let out all of their Pokémon, allowing them to enjoy the steam as well. Pikachu, Buneary, Pachirisu, Happiny, and Azurill were having a playful splash fight. Chimchar, Piplup, Staryu, Vaporeon, and Leona's three Swinub were relaxing near the edge of the water while Sudowoodo and the non-swimming Psyduck stayed on shore to avoid getting wet. Croagunk, Politoed, Turtwig, and Staravia were relaxing in the smaller pool. Gyarados and Charizard took the biggest pool along with Buizel, who was punching the water flow. And the five humans were huddled together in the only pool that wasn't taken, with Ash and Misty closest to each other of course.
"I'll tell ya! There's nothing like a great hot-spring!" Ash said as he stretched out his aching muscles.
"It just melts all of your stress away." Misty sunk deeper into the water, her eyes closed in contentment.
"It's the perfect thing to recharge the old batteries." Brock added.
"It makes you feel like giving your all to everything you do!" Dawn said.
"You know, after having that battle with Ash and Misty, I've decided to go back to the gyms again. Good luck on your gym battles Ash!" Leona said.
Ash eagerly thanked her, "Hey thanks!"
"Good luck with your battles too." Dawn said.
"Thanks Dawn. And hey, no need to worry, things will get better!" Leona encouraged. Dawn's face fell when she realized what Leona meant. "Now that you've been in my hot-spring, there'll be no stopping you, I'm sure of it!" Leona added.
"Wow, you think? Sounds great!" Dawn said cheerfully.
"You know guys; I think Dawn finally has her confidence back." Brock said.
"I'm so glad. We don't need more than one mope in our group." Misty teased.
"Ha ha. Very funny." Ash replied with a roll of his eyes.
Misty giggled and gave Ash a quick peck before sinking back into the water, "Doesn't mean I don't love you."
Ash stuck his tongue out at the redhead playfully, but then he realized something. "Hey I just remembered something! There's something I've been meaning to ask you Leona."
"Sure Ash, fire away." Leona said.
"Why do all of Dawn's old friends call her Dee Dee?"
"Ash, are you trying to get hurt?" Misty hissed.
"Oh, I don't mind telling you, I'm surprised you don't know! You see…" Leona was abruptly cut-off by Dawn, who had jumped up out of the water to dunk her friend.
"This hot-spring's more help than I thought!" the coordinator snarled.
When Dawn finally let Leona resurface, she simply laughed. "Well, I guess it'll stay mine and Dawn's little secret." Dawn soon joined in on her laughter, much to the confusion of the other three teenagers. A little later, they decided to call back their Pokémon, and go to sleep. But Misty had decided to stay back and enjoy the water a little longer. "Stay as long as you like." Leona had said before walking back inside with Dawn and Brock.
Misty's POV
"Ahh, finally…a little peace and quiet." I immersed myself into the water, inhaling the steam and enjoying the moon-lit sky. "You don't see a view like this in Cerulean." I said to myself, or so I thought.
"Yeah, it really is something." Ash was still in his bathing suit when he said that.
"Aren't you going inside Ash?"
"Nah, I figured I'd stay out here a while, enjoy the fresh air."
I gave him a smile and invited him to come in next to me. He graciously accepted, and once he got in, I shifted over to him and placed myself under his arm. "The moon sure is beautiful tonight, isn't it Ash?"
"Yeah, and all those stars, I think I can see Ursaring Major up there." Ash pointed to the sky with his other arm.
We floated in silence for a few minutes, when a thought crossed my mind. "Do you really think Dawn has her confidence back Ash?"
"Well Mist, all we can do is hope. When my confidence was down back in Kanto, you and Brock built me back up. We can probably do the same for her now!" Ash said determinedly. That was always Ash, when his friends were feeling bad, he would do anything he could to make them feel better. I stared at his chocolate-brown eyes in admiration, and gave him a longer kiss on his cheek. I blushed when Ash turned his eyes to me.
Ash's POV
She had kissed me again, I was getting used to it, but this one had…what was it? More love behind it? Whatever it was, it felt really good on the inside. I stared at her deep, viridian eyes, and I felt myself start to blush, and I saw that she was blushing too. Either that or the heat from the hot-spring was starting to get to both of us.
Misty's POV
Immersed in the warm feeling of both Ash and the hot-spring, I was feeling myself start to fall asleep while I was leaning on him. "Come on Mist, let's get inside, it's late and you're starting to doze off." Ash said softly. I gave him a nod as he helped me out of the water and we changed back into our clothes.
I was expecting everyone to be asleep by now, but I was surprised when Dawn was standing in the hallway with a goofy grin on her face. "Here's your room Misty!" Dawn said a little too cheerfully.
"Uh, thanks, but where's Ash's room?" I already had a gut-feeling of what the answer was.
"Oops, did I forget to separate you two again? My bad." Dawn said with a grin. I gave her a frustrated smirk and walked into the room with Ash.
"Good night…Dee Dee!" Ash said before slamming the door. Me and Ash laughed hard when we heard Dawn screaming to open the door and let her practically kill Ash, but the screaming abruptly stopped when we heard Leona open her door and tell her to be quiet.
"Pi…ka." (Good…grief.) Pikachu said sleepily.
"That was mean Ash." I said in a mock-disapproving tone.
"How many times do we have to call her that before she learns her lesson?" Ash snickered. We slipped under the covers and I snuggled next to him, not wanting to lose any heat that the hot-spring had granted me. "Sleep well Misty, we've got a long day ahead of us." he whispered.
I smiled and closed my eyes. "Good night Ash." I whispered.
"G'night Misty."
Early the next morning, I woke Ash up and told him that breakfast was on the table, which got both him and Pikachu to get moving really fast. He slipped on his vest and put on his hat and ran to the kitchen, where Leona's mom had treated us to pancakes. "So Ash, where are you guys headed now?" Leona asked.
"We're heading to Veilstone City!" Ash replied.
"Really? I heard that the Gym Leader there likes to use fighting-type Pokémon a lot." Leona said.
"Hey thanks! I'll keep that in mind!" Ash said.
"And what about you Leona?" I asked.
"Well, I guess I'll train when I get the chance, but you know, I don't want to get too far away from our hot-spring." Leona said with a grin.
"I can attest to that!" I agreed.
Normal POV
After breakfast, the group packed up their things and headed out. "Great to see you again Dawn!" Leona called, waving goodbye along with her mom and dad.
"Come again and enjoy our hot-spring!" her mom added.
"We'll be here waiting for you!" her dad added. The group waved goodbye to Leona and her parents, and walked down the path to Veilstone City.
"Boy, do I feel great!" Ash exclaimed.
"That water sure does wonders!" Misty added.
"And I know that once I get back on the contest trail, I'm gonna do great!" Dawn exclaimed.
"That's the spirit! I'm so happy for you!" Misty said.
"Thanks Misty, for everything." Dawn replied.
"No problem, that's what friends are for." Misty said.
"You know, I feel so good, that I want to do some training with Turtwig!" Ash exclaimed.
"Sounds good to me! I'll get Vaporeon!" Misty exclaimed. The two trainers got to battling.
"Oh no." Dawn and Brock said in unison. They were stuck once again, until Ash and Misty decided to stop training, and get back onto the trail to Veilstone City.