.

Blessings

"Although not yet here, the future is already producing ghosts which haunt us."

–Thich Nhat Hanh

The next morning came too soon. Misty had told Ash to make sure she got up early, then told Pikachu to remind him. Pikachu took the job very seriously, apparently promising electric shocks in Ash's future if he didn't manage it. Shocks shouldn't have been much of a threat to a ghost, but memories of shocks from when he was alive must have been enough to scare him straight.

Fortunately, no electricity had been necessary. Misty's circadian rhythm previous to her poisoning bout must have still been imprinted, because she managed to wake up with the sun. She was already rolling up her sleeping bag by the time Ash and Pikachu flew back to the campsite, Noir surprisingly in toe.

"Oh, bonding were we?" Misty asked as she stomped on last night's fire, making sure there were no coals that a wayward breeze could relight, remembering the strange fire she and Molly had endured back outside of Viridian.

"Yeah, just hanging out a bit," Ash said with a grin. "Good morning, by the way."

Misty laughed. "Good morning, Ash."

It seemed things were back to normal between the two of them. Ash must have just needed to get his worries off his chest the night before and, now that they were, they could move forward.

And move forward they did. Misty's leisurely pace from the day before was gone. The quicker they got to Violet, the more time she would get to spend with Brock. Fortunately, she didn't have to miss out on the Johto region just because she was hurrying, as it turned out that she had three spontaneous tour guides in Noir, Ash, and Pikachu. They would fly off the trail, looking around and pointing things out, pretty spots of nature they'd seen the evening before or cool Pokémon endemic to the Johto region. Ash was able to provide extra information about them, reminding Misty that he had traversed the region in his youth, before the war.

The time passed quickly like that, though Misty's joints were creaking a bit from all the walking the day before. It had been a couple weeks since she'd traveled on foot, so her feet had to get used to it again. Luckily, the path was mostly clear of people, since the Trainer season was just about to start. It would be another story in a few days.

It was a few hours before Misty reached Violet City. The city center was a far cry from Cherrygrove's, with buildings that were tall enough to be visible from miles away if you could catch a glimpse between the tree cover. But Misty still couldn't reconcile it with the cities of Kanto.

The trees from the trainer path bled into the city, creating avenues thick with greenery-filled medians. Misty was concerned that a Rattata—"Sentret," Ash informed her would dart into the road and get hit by a car.

But no, that didn't seem to be the case. The road was clear and, truly, the city was rather peaceful. A different kind of peace than walking along the bay or through a friendly forest, but there certainly wasn't the hustle and bustle of Goldenrod. It was probably a nice place to live. Especially for someone like Brock, who deserved some peace.

Map in hand, Misty searched for where the university was. Landmarks for Violet City were the Gym—obviously—Sprout Tower, and Violet University, which made things simple enough. It appeared that the university buildings were near the center of town, northeast of where she was. She headed up the city block.

Ash and Pikachu were on her right side, Noir in second plane on her left. Not flying off upon breaching the city for once, much to Misty's bemusement. Against all odds, Noir was actually smiling. She'd always liked Brock well enough—perhaps she was looking forward to seeing him almost as much as Misty was.

"Wait, wait, the Gym!" Ash exclaimed, leaving his near-walking pace by Misty's side and soaring towards the slim spiral tower that made the Gym. It looked more like spire for an evil witch than something that belonged with the traditional buildings of the rest of the city, donning gently sloping gables and open verandas.

Misty snatched his wrist automatically. "You've had thirty years to visit, Ash," she said, yanking him back down to earth. "You'll have to make do with the school."

"But it has an open air upper floor for the Flying—yow!"

Misty yanked on his wrist one more time and stomped forward on her way.

Maybe she looked like a mime to passersby, or maybe someone was clever enough to assume she had a Ghost Pokémon. Or maybe they thought she had an imaginary friend, or was just some kind of freak. Misty bit her lips together, fighting against the blush on her cheek—which were already pinker than usual from all the hours outside, she was sure—and headed on.

Then they were coming upon what must have been the university. The buildings' styles weren't as classic as the ones further from the city center, with white exteriors and dozens of windows. They were like large rectangular mansions with sloping roofs dropped on top as an afterthought, some with ornate entrances at the front. Obviously newer than some of the other buildings in the city, and they were visibly all connected. In front of one, there was a person looking out at the crowd with his hand over his eyes, blocking out the midmorning sun.

"It can't be…" Misty said as she craned her head in that direction.

Pikachu flew ahead, then quickly circled back, pointing and cheering, "Pika! Pika!"

Misty took off running. "Brock!" she shouted once she got close enough to be heard. He reached his arms out and she tackled him in a Bewear hug. "How did you know we were almost here?"

Brock nodded his chin over Misty's shoulder to Noir, who was back in first plane and giggling maniacally. "She snuck up behind me again. The usual. What, you weren't in cahoots this time?"

Misty laughed, pulling back and watching as Noir flew a couple loops around Brock's head. "Actually, no," Misty replied. Noir must have taken a minute to go through third plan and skip to the university, perhaps while Ash had been fawning over the Gym. Misty shouldn't have been surprised.

"So, is the famous Ash here?" Brock asked, looking vaguely in the area around Misty.

"He's right here," Misty answered, gesturing to where Ash had just caught up with her. "Ash, Pikachu, meet Brock Slate. Brock, meet Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu."

"Pleasure to meet you, Ash and Pikachu," Brock said, trying his best to look where Misty had gestured.

Ash floated into the right spot, so that he and Brock were making approximate eye contact and said, "Likewise."

"He says the same," Misty relayed as she looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching them. There were a number of people walking in the area, but no one seemed to notice a girl gesturing to the air beside her and a man talking into an empty space.

"Can I make you breakfast?" Brock asked, pointing to the building behind him.

Misty couldn't tamp down the grin that rose on her face. "Yes, please!"

It turned out that medical students had university housing on campus. Brock's room was a single with a full kitchen, living room, and separate bedroom.

"Is this enough space to work your magic?" Misty asked, gesturing to the single countertop, and meager cabinet space in the kitchen. The sink was only deep enough to hold a few dishes before they'd be spilling onto the counter—although, Misty was certain that Brock cleaned every utensil after use. Everything in the space was spotless.

"The kitchen at the Gym might be bigger, but it also has to accommodate no less than ten hungry mouths," Brock explained as he put a kettle on. "For just one this is fine, so long as I use the space efficiently."

Not surprisingly at all, Brock was perfectly efficient. Maybe he was using his dorm for only himself, but he had enough food in his fridge to make a full breakfast for both of them. He heated a skillet while putting the rice cooker on and serving Misty some green tea. She watched him go and quickly realized that she'd never be as good at multitasking as Brock was. She supposed one had to be that way if they were the primary caretaker for nine younger siblings. Before she knew it, the coffee table was set—the one job he'd assigned to her—and they were eating while Ash and Pikachu looked on jealously.

"I can't even apologize," Misty said to the two of them as she proceeded to shove her face. "Brock's cooking is just too good for me to feel bad for enjoying it in front of you."

"Right, I guess you'd miss food as a ghost, wouldn't you," Brock said. "That's too bad."

Ash pouted from his spot between them. "It's…fine. We'll just…watch."

"Ash is lying about it being fine."

Misty got no correction from him on her interpretation.

Once Brock was finished with his meal—he took much longer than Misty, who'd all but wolfed down her portion—Misty began clearing the dishes and asked, "So, what's the plan, Brock?"

"Right," Brock said, taking the dishes out of Misty's hands to do them himself. "I figured I could give you a little tour. I know secondary education isn't really your thing, but this is a good opportunity to check it out, plus the school has some cool facilities. Maybe check out the city some and then take it easy as we make preparations for you to head to Ecruteak tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Add you healing my Pokémon to that list and it sounds perfect," Misty said with a cheeky smile.

Brock laughed. "You got it."

They ended up deciding to heal Misty's Pokémon first. That meant Brock taking her 'Balls down to one of the infirmaries while Misty took the opportunity to stay in the dorm with Noir to call her sisters and inform them that she'd arrived in Violet in one piece. It had been all she could do to keep Brock from joining her, but Noir had barred her zippered mouth at him and he backed off. For once, Noir was defending Misty's right to talk to her sisters in peace instead of getting in the way of it.

Ash wanted to watch Brock at work, to see what might be different from when Nurse Joy performed a checkup. So he and Pikachu went with Brock while Noir denied that she needed to be checked out.

By the time Misty was done with her phone call—brief, since she'd talked to her sisters just the day before—Brock and Ash hadn't returned yet, so she set off to find them.

Brock had given her directions to the Water-Type infirmary, but it had still taken a bit of aimless wandering through bright, nondescript hallways—and a lot of Noir fading to second plane to go through walls—to get there. When she finally did, Brock looked up from a pool to say, "You never told me you caught your own Goldeen!"

The room was unlike any infirmary Misty had ever imagined. In the grand scheme of things, the pool in the room was rather small—it wouldn't be worth swimming laps in—but it would be big enough to hold Gyarados. Judging by the puddles outside the pool, it already had.

"Oh yeah," Misty said, thinking back on her past calls to Brock. "I guess that fell through the cracks of everything else that was happening."

"Well, the good news is that he seems to be doing quite well," Brock said as he took his hands out of the pool and wiped them on a nearby towel. "Horn's developed nicely, scales seem strong. I'm just going to leave him in the pool for a few minutes so he can hydrate and digest a bit."

"Sounds good," Misty replied. "Ash give you any trouble?"

Ash was flitting around the pool checking out all the equipment. The space was large, though the pool took up most of the floor. Misty was sure that multiple people could work in the room at once, but, luckily, they were the only occupants. It was probably another space that would be busier in a few days' time.

"Actually, we've been able to communicate a bit," Brock said, shocking Misty. "Hey, Ash, do you think Misty's phone call went well?"

Misty watched as Ash zipped back over toward her and Brock and stared at a pencil that was resting on a clipboard. With a great deal of concentration on Ash's part, the eraser end lifted a centimeter or so off the paper twice. Then he grinned up at Misty.

Brock too was smiling. "Two taps for yes, one tap for no," he explained. "It means I can only ask yes or no questions, but still, it's something."

"Yeah, no kidding," Misty said. "That's awesome."

"Of course, he could talk too," Ash added. "He told me stories, said that his grandfather was in the war too."

Misty schooled her face, not showing the surprise that the words drew out in her. It wasn't something about Ash, but him bringing up the war on his own was still new, even after the story of his death. So she turned her attention to Brock.

"Your grandfather was in the war?" Misty asked. Maybe that was why Brock had turned out to be such a history buff.

"Ah, Ash told you that?" Brock asked. "Yeah, he passed away young in battle. He was a hero and I'm his namesake."

"Oh wow," Misty said. "I can't believe I never knew that."

"There are always things we don't know," Brock replied, looking at Misty knowingly. "How was the phone call?"

"Sisters are all doing well, very grateful that I saved them from Brock," Misty replied as Brock let out a deflated breath. "How about my Pokémon?"

"Well, Jellicent was another surprise," Brock said, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Misty. Misty was surprised, herself. She hadn't realized she'd missed telling Brock so many basic things. "And I've never worked on one before, so I could only pool my knowledge on Tentacruel and the lecture on Ghosts that Morty gave and do my best, but he seems strong as well. Everyone was just a little tired, so I gave them some food and vitamins."

"Thanks so much, Brock," Misty said as Brock returned her PokéBalls to her. "So we're all finished here?"

"Yep," Brock replied. "So, where do you wanna head first? There are lots of great lecture halls, and the dining hall actually isn't bad. There are some nice gardens in the courtyards." He looked at Misty, clocking her blank expression. "Or…we could go to the breeding center?"

Misty blinked. "Where the Pokémon are kept?"

Ash and Misty exchanged a sparkling look.

"That one!"

Upon seeing the breeding center, it was immediately obvious why Brock had traveled all the way to Johto instead of attending someplace like Celadon University back in Kanto. The space was large, spanning multiple rooms and even floors so that proper habitats could be provided for the Pokémon with plenty of space. Ash shot ahead of the group, shouting names of the Pokémon he was coming across—of which there were dozens.

"Where are the Water Types?" Misty asked eagerly as they passed by an enclosure of Magnemite and Magneton. Brock had already expertly scooted her past a large room of Bug Types.

"There are some dual-Types with the Ice Pokémon," Brock said as they meandered that way. "And some Poliwrath with the Fighting."

"Ooh, let's see!" Misty exclaimed, quickening to Ash's pace as she went in the assumed direction of the Fighting Types. A few Poliwrath weren't much, but it wasn't anything she had at Cerulean Gym either.

The area that housed the Fighting Type Pokémon was mountainous, just as good for the Rock and Ground Pokémon Misty spotted as it was for the plethora of Fighting Types. There were heavy objects for lifting and bits of equipment that had probably been taken straight from the university gym. The Machop, Mankey, and their ilk had well-developed arms and they were all bursting with gusto as they ran around the enclosure.

The Poliwrath, too, were a sight. Misty tried to think of things to relate the size of their fists to and could only come up with the largest, hardest fruits. Watermelon and durian and jackfruit. One was hydrating under a running shower, its breathable skin glistening as it rejuvenated itself. It wasn't as good as a pool, but this was the Fighting Type enclosure after all.

"We mostly have the Types of Pokémon that the Gym Leaders in Johto have," Brock explained as Misty continued to observe. Ash had bypassed the glass and was watching the Pokémon spar up close. Much safer to do when incorporeal. "So that means Fighting, Steel, Ice, and Bug. The Violet Gym keeps most of their roost there, and university students can visit for study. Ghost Types don't breed much, and Whitney's got her farm and Claire has the Dragon's Den to house tons of Pokémon. So this is most of what we've got."

"That explains the lack of Water Types," Misty murmurs, her voice fogging the glass.

Cerulean Gym partnered with Celadon University, often sending Water Pokémon back and forth for the benefit of students and Pokémon alike. Celadon would pay Misty and her sisters directly for young Pokémon who could then be raised by students. Sometimes Pokémon would come back to the Gym at some point, but often they left the university with the students, leaving the university constantly in need, despite the fact that there was some breeding on campus too.

"Is there a pool or anything here?" Misty asked. "Aside from the one in the infirmary."

"Well, there's a cold one with the Ice Types," Brock offered, gesturing behind them. "But that's it for now. Though the university's almost through with fundraising for one. Water is a common dual Type, but it means specialized care, even for these Poliwrath. So we'll need one sooner rather than later."

The gears in Misty's head began to turn. "It would be amazing to be the first Gym in Kanto to have a partnership with something as big as Violet University."

Brock glanced over at Misty. Her eyes were locked on a random point in front of her, but she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "That would certainly boost Cerulean's status."

"We could send some of our baby Seel," Misty mused. They could join Pryce's Pokémon in the Ice enclosure.

"I think it's a great idea, Misty."

"You could do it, too," Misty suddenly said, turning back to Brock. "Get Forrest to send over some Rock Types—they'll fit right in with the Fighting Types. No new enclosure needed, at least not right away."

Brock paused, looking over the habitat in front of them. He, of course, knew more of the nuances around Rock Types and would be able to see the little things that needed to be added or taken away. Or big things, if Misty was way off target. But she didn't think she was.

It was hard for Cerulean and Pewter both to be anything but second-rate Gyms when all the other Gym Leaders in the region had so much experience on her and Forrest. This wouldn't make her or her sisters more competitive by any means, but it would bring in fresh capital and provide an opportunity to start training Johtan Pokémon…it would be fantastic for all their careers. Then interviews could begin to be about how Misty was such a good business woman instead of how interesting it was that she was such a young Gym Leader. That would be something that would make her mom proud.

Misty was almost giddy with excitement as she continued to imagine the scenario. Maybe Brock was wrong about her not enjoying secondary education. Secondary education, it seemed, might be very, very good for her indeed.

"Alright," Misty said, stepping away from the glass and seeing the translucent reflection of herself grinning, "let's see what else this place has to offer, Brock."

It turned out that Brock had been right about the lecture halls and even the cafeteria. Seeing those big university halls was like something out of a young adult movie, or at least that's all that Misty could liken it to. And, despite breakfast having not been that long ago, Misty quickly found herself hungry enough that that random cafeteria food looked and smelled gourmet. Brock repeatedly insisted that it wasn't anything as good as home cooking, but that was only the case when your home cook was Brock—not Misty or her sisters.

The courtyards were the best, though. There were flower gardens that mostly didn't have any Pokémon more offensive than Butterfree, and lots of cheerful students hanging out with each other and their Pokémon. There was something idyllic about it. Misty might almost feel like she was missing out, were it not for Brock's reminder that classes hadn't actually started yet, and the pressure would be on later in the week.

The only downside was that there were so many pretty girls that Brock was practically tripping over himself trying to make eye contact and smile at them. Maybe college would be some kind of exposure therapy for him, and he could finally be gosh darn normal around women. In the meantime, Misty just reached for his ear, and yanked him along the rest of their tour.

"Okay, there's actually a little more this way," Brock said as he stopped in his tracks, rubbing his ear. "But that's pretty much the whole tour, so we should probably just head back to the dorms now and get you ready for your trip."

"Not so fast." Misty reached for Brock and he jerked his ear out of the way, only for her to grip his arm just under his elbow. "You show me this whole campus and then skip out on the end? What gives?"

Ash, Pikachu, and Noir were slowly wandering ahead and Misty had half a mind to follow them. Her feet still hurt from all the walking but leaving without seeing everything just seemed silly.

"Well," Brock scratched the back of his neck, "there's a cemetery up ahead. For school alumni who pass away and choose to be buried here. I figured you'd want to, you know, steer clear."

That was Misty's impulse alright. As soon as the word 'cemetery' left Brock's lips, her body went on high alert, eyes glancing around for any glowing souls waiting to catch sight of her.

Then she took a breath. She thought of Phyllis, of Carl. Even of Phoebe's sister, Lana, and Daniel and Fay, who she still needed to save. Of her own mother.

"No," Misty stated, the word coming out slow but sure. "I'd rather go on my own terms than wait for them to find me. Besides, it's daytime. There shouldn't be too many. Let's go."

Brock looked at her for a moment longer, studying her. It went on a moment too long and Misty covered her face, turning away.

"Stop looking at me!" She began forward down the path, unsure if she was going toward the cemetery or away from Brock's examining gaze.

"Sorry!" Brock called, jogging a couple steps to catch up. "You've just changed. I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, well, nothing to be proud of yet," Misty mumbled, keeping her eyes peeled.

She soon saw the first gray stones marking the cemetery, all rather close together. Brock had given enough history about Violet University for Misty to know that it was a pre-war institution, so she wondered how many of the alumni buried here had died after long scholastic careers and how many had left school to become soldiers. It was nearly impossible to tell, as hardly any stones had more information than the names of the dead.

Most importantly, though: there were no ghosts.

"Anything here?" Brock asked tentatively, but he should have been anticipating the shake of her head. There was no one catching her visual focus, and the tension that had stiffened her shoulders upon entering the cemetery was leaving her. This was the most relaxed she'd been in one maybe ever.

Perhaps it was because the graves here were rather barren. The graveyard in Cerulean where her mother's remains were always seemed to be teeming with ghosts during her and her sisters' yearly pilgrimage. And as Misty tried to look anywhere but at the mournful ghosts, she'd always spot flowers, like the ones she and her sisters brought. Some graves also had little wells filled with water or sake.

The flowers here were more brown than anything else, and there were no offerings to speak of. Nothing besides wooden sticks with writing Misty couldn't quite parse propped up against some tombstones.

"What are these?" Misty asked, taking a few steps towards one and trying to make out the scrawl. The characters weren't anything she recognized.

"They're blessings," Brock answered. "They're intended to keep spirits from returning to our world."

"Well, they seem to be working," Misty mused. "Might need to get my hands on more of these."

"I'm surprised you didn't already know about them," Brock added. "They're pretty common."

If Misty wracked her mind, she was sure she could remember some strange red sticks at the graveyard back in Cerulean, but no, she'd never asked about them.

"Yeah, well," Misty said. "I guess I'm only just starting to realize that learning everything I can actually behooves me. Instead of keeping my head in the sand."

Brock grinned, putting a friendly hand on Misty's shoulder. "Look at you all grown up."

Misty rolled her eyes, shrugging his hand off immediately. "Yeah, yeah." She definitely was learning, even if this particular venture was looking like a dud.

Ash, who'd been scanning the headstones—Misty briefly wondered if he recognized any names, but she had the tact not to ask—hovered a little closer to her and put his thumb to his ear and pinky to his mouth, like a phone. For a moment, Misty only blinked at him, but then it hit her. Call. She could call any lingering ghosts, just as Phoebe had on Cinnabar.

Well, maybe not just as Phoebe had, Misty thought, remembering Phoebe's theatrics. Her chanting was not something Misty was going to emulate, that was for sure.

Still, she walked over to Noir, who seemed a little bored with the whole endeavor. She'd been patient for hours, and honestly, Misty was impressed. Hopefully this would draw a bit more of her interest.

"Noir," Misty started, coming up right beside her, earning her eye contact. "Will you stand with me while I try to call some ghosts?"

Noir nodded, floating a little higher to float shoulder to shoulder with Misty as Misty closed her eyes and concentrated. Concentrated on…something.

She grit her teeth. This was so much harder when she didn't have Noir or Ash's particular images to try and stick in front of her. Instead, she had to go with an abstract concept, like praying to a shapeless deity. But she did her best, trying to put out the energy that she wanted to talk, imagine a glowing essence in front of her. She'd called Noir and Ash before—she could do this.

She could do this.

Then the screaming started.

A/N: Cliffhanger! Always love those. Didn't have them for those chaps that always ended with Misty sleeping. Boring.

This is a split chapter. I started writing it in 2020, then was consumed (still am, btw) by the bnha fandom, and didn't come back to it for a whole year and a half-2022. That transition saw me get a new job and apartment-my current ones-I got cats and new roommates, one of whom is still the same. This chapter is the first one that's almost caught up with my life as it is now. Crazy. And I do already see some bits of my changed writing style in this chap. I'm sure I'm the only one who can tell, haha, but it's good to see even small bits of growth.

Something that came up in this chapter is exactly why I wanted to wait until I was done with this fic to post the rest of it. When I restarted writing this fic in 2023, I didn't reread the whole thing-bad practice, I know-but there are a lot of sections of this fic I simply can't bear rereading, lol. Anyway, I ended up having to make a good handful of alterations to the manuscript this week because of this chapter, so forgive its slight tardiness. Hopefully, not too many other content edits are needed, but I didn't 100% set myself up for success in that regard, haha, so we'll see.