It was another wonderful day in the world of Pokemon, and in Cerulean City, Misty was just opening the gym up for the day for any potential challengers to come over, as well as for anyone else who may decide to show up…
Misty and her Togetic were getting the lobby in a presentable shape for the trainers that would come over today when they saw someone on the other side of the door. The shadow on the other side gave a friendly wave as Misty made her way to the door and opened it.
"Hey there, Misty," Tracey said as he was let into the gym.
"Toge-cha!" Togetic said as she flew towards her "uncle", happy to see him.
"Tracey," Misty said, "What brings you to the gym? Bringing more Pokemon food from Professor Oak?"
"Actually, it was Daisy who asked me to come over," Tracey admitted, "She asked me if she could help out at the gym today."
"Oh, I see," Misty said, "Well, you're welcome to come in." She then turned to the main area and shouted, "DAISY! TRACEY'S HERE!"
Meanwhile, a trainer was standing on the outskirts of Cerulean City with his Bulbasaur. "Well, looks like we have made it to Cerulean City, Bulbasaur," he said. They were overlooking the city after passing a sign that read "Welcome to Cerulean City! Gary was here, Ash is a loser."
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said as the trainer clenched his fist in determination.
"I heard that the Cerulean Gym leaders are not known to take their job seriously. That plus your type should make it very easy. Second badge, here we come!" he said before they sprinted towards town and the gym.
Misty Chronicles OP1:
"I Ain't The Same, I'm the Power"
Lyrics by TheGlassyGuyArt
Vocals by Rachael Lillis (as Misty)
(Lyrics
Accompanying Visual)
I feel the change in the air, I'm feeling so alive
On a blue background, a silhouette of Misty's feet appears, and zooms up her body as the lyrics continue.
My heart is beating faster, higher than a kite
When it reaches her face, it zooms out and reveals her whole body.
I ain't the same, I'm something new, I'm something bold
Misty pulls out a Pokeball and throws it, a flash of light appears
I'm feeling the power, I'm never getting old!
The logo for "The Misty Chronicles" appears as it transitions to the first verse.
I ain't the same, I'm way much more,
Misty is shown running alongside a river, her Goldeen jumps out and wags her tail before falling back into the water.
My spirit's got the power to open every door!
Staryu jumps out of the water and spins before it too falls into the water.
"Giving up" was never in my dictionary,
Psyduck suddenly pops out of his Pokeball. Misty stops running as Psyduck falls into the water.
My power has been reborn, and so I have been!
Misty sighs as Togepi, who was in her arms, just chirps happily and claps
I'm on a mission to live my life right,
Misty is now facing off against another trainer, as Politoed cheers her on by clapping.
Spreading love and light with all of my might,
Misty sends out Corsola as it makes a pose.
Gotta rise up high don't be afraid to fall,
Horsea and Starmie are swimming behind a glass wall, giving happy expressions as if they are happy to see Misty again.
The courage within me is gonna carry all!
Gyarados swims straight up in front of the Pokemon as it cuts to Misty on the battlefield
OH YEAH, I AIN'T THE SAME BABY!
Misty sends out all of her Pokemon as the chorus starts up.
I ain't the same, I'm the power and younger!
Goldeen jumps up and uses a Horn Attack
I am the victory, feeling so much stronger!
Staryu and Starmie use Water Guns to form arcs as Misty makes a pose in between.
Oh yeah, I ain't the same,
Togepi shakes her arms back and forth like a metronome to the beat.
Oh yeah, I ain't the same!
Psyduck shakes his booty in front of the camera.
I ain't the same, I'm the motivation.
Horsea uses a Smokescreen attack to cover the whole screen.
I'm the heartbeat, born for inspiration!
Corsola clears the smoke by using a Spike Cannon attack.
Oh yeah, I ain't the same,
Politoed claps along to the beat.
Oh yeah, I ain't the same!
Gyarados pops out of the pool and unleashes an attack
I know in my heart I can do anything!
Misty and all of her Pokemon are seen together as the song ends.
On a cerulean blue background, the episode's title appears as Misty reads it out loud.
TOGETIC'S GYM DEBUT!
It was a rather slow day at the very start, as expected. Most challengers don't exactly show up to the gym at the designated opening time, so that gave Misty plenty of time to get the gym ready for challengers. And with Tracey and Daisy helping (mostly the former, because heaven forbid the beauty queen lift a single one of her fingers), just about everything was ready by the time they heard the doorbell ring, indicating that a challenger had just arrived at the gym.
"Coming!" Misty said as she headed to the main lobby to greet whoever came through the doors of the gym, Tracey not far behind. She was soon met with a navy haired lad with a Bulbasaur by his side.
Tracey seemed to recognize him. "Oh, hey there, Gilbert. How is your journey going so far?"
"Pretty good," Gilbert said, "But what are you doing all the way over in Cerulean? Aren't you working for Professor Oak back in Pallet Town?"
"Yeah, I still do," Tracey said, "But I just came here to see Misty and help her out a little."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Gilbert asked teasingly.
Misty was not a fan of what Gilbert suggested. "TRACEY SKETCHIT IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND! HE IS A BOY, HE IS A FRIEND, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN HE IS MY BOYFRIEND!"
"Toge Toge," Togetic said as she rubbed her head against her mother-figure in an effort to calm her down. It seemed to work.
"Sorry about that, Togetic," Misty said before turning her attention back to Tracey and Gilbert. "You said that you two know each other from the lab?"
"Yeah," Tracey said as he thought back to the day Gilbert came to pick his starter Pokemon.
(Shots from the episode "Journey to the Starting Line" appeared as Tracey talked about the events of the episode.)
"The day that Gilbert was supposed to arrive for his starter Pokemon, there was a stampede of Tauros that caused major damage to the lab," Tracey said, "And the starter Pokemon escaped. Just as Gilbert came for his starter Pokemon. But he wasn't upset that the starter Pokemon escaped, as he heard of a boy from a few years back who got a Pikachu, and wanted one."
"Was the special boy by any chance Ash?" Misty asked Tracey, despite already knowing the answer.
"Yep," Tracey said before continuing his story. "Professor Oak said that Ash was a special case, before Gilbert argued that he was special too for being the mayor's son before saying training Pokemon was ANNOYING. I didn't take too lightly to that, saying training was a pretty big part of raising Pokemon."
"I bet so," Misty said. She was giving thanks to the sky above that Ash wasn't there to hear what Gilbert said. She didn't want to imagine how HE would have reacted.
"Anyways, we headed out to find the runaway Pokemon, Gilbert NOT happy about having to help out. Delia and Mimey (who came over to the lab for a delivery) along with myself found the Charmander with Mimey stopping him from drowning. According to Professor Oak, he, Gilbert, and Ash's Bulbasaur were on a cliff where they spotted Squirtle on a high tree (Gilbert still not letting off his complaining at that point). Gilbert decided to go home, not caring for the "weak Pokemon" when he nearly fell down, only to be saved by Bulbasaur."
"Served him right," Misty thought to herself. From what Tracey told her about Gilbert, he wasn't someone she wanted to face based on the first chunk of information. But alas, she was a gym leader and couldn't say no to a challenger.
"The Squirtle was traumatized by the incident, so Bulbasaur made funny shapes to try and make the Tiny Turtle Pokemon feel better. After talking with Professor Oak, Gilbert finally decided to warm up to the Kanto starters and helped Squirtle come out of its shell. Soon, only Bulbasaur was left, and we met up with the others to try and find him. Little Bulbasaur was in a tree surrounded by a bunch of Primeape, and we nearly got the Pokemon to safety…" Tracey paused and looked at Gilbert.
Gilbert simply hung his head low, "Yeah… I sneezed and attracted a group of Pokemon known for their bad temper." He then put his head back up, "But I managed to run off with Little Bulbasaur before we were cornered by the Primeape, where I promised to protect him just as Ash's Bulbasaur came in to rescue us!"
Back to reality
"Just like Ash," Misty said to herself, remembering his first day as a trainer as well as the day the two of them first met and started traveling together. "Anyways, have you come for a gym battle against me?"
"I have," Gilbert said, "Going for number two today. I had a pretty good time against the Pewter Gym leader, and I heard that the Cerulean Gym was another easy one." He showed off his Boulder Badge.
"Well then, Gilbert, I accept your challenge," Misty said.
"Tracey!" Daisy shouted from another spot in the gym, "I need some help over here! Is it okay if you come and help?!"
"Coming!" Tracey shouted into the main area before turning to Misty and Gilbert, "I have to get going, you two. See you after the gym battle, Misty."
"Okay then," Misty said as Tracey headed to where he was needed by Daisy. "Okay then. How does a two on two battle sound, Gilbert?"
"That sounds perfect," Gilbert said, "My battle with the Pewter Gym Leader was a two on two as well."
"Okay then," Misty said as she and Gilbert headed to the main area of the gym.
"This will be a two on two match between the Cerulean Gym Leader, Misty, and the challenger, Gilbert of Pallet Town," the referee declared, "Only the challenger is allowed to switch his Pokemon, and the battle ends when one trainer loses all of their Pokemon." He then looked towards Gilbert, "As the challenger, you get the first move."
"Okay then," Gilbert said as he pulled out a Pokeball, "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"
Out came the starter Pokemon, who landed on one of the platforms meant for Pokemon who couldn't swim.
"Okay then," Misty said as she pulled out a Pokeball herself, "Staryu, I choose you!"
Out of Misty's Pokeball came the star shaped Pokemon, who landed on a platform opposite Gilbert's Bulbasaur.
"Okay, Bulbasaur," Gilbert said, "Let's start this battle off with a Razor Leaf!"
"Bulba!" Bulbsaur said as he launched a set of leaves from out of his bulb in order to attack the Water-type opponent.
The leaves flew closer and closer to Staryu, but Misty shouted at Staryu, "Dodge it!" Upon that command, Staryu jumped into the water where it had the clear advantage.
"Oh man," Gilbert said, "Just hang in their, Bulbasaur! We will find a way to deal with the Pokemon!"
"Staryu, jump out of the water and use your Swift attack!" Misty told her Pokemon, who jumped out of the water behind the platform Bulbasaur was standing on, knocking him backwards a little bit.
"Hang on, Bulbasaur!" Gilbert told his Pokemon. The Grass and Poison-type was about to fall into the water, but made a good recovery by using his vines to keep a hold onto the platform. The starter Pokemon hoist himself back up as Gilbert looked at the pool for a way to force Staryu out of the water. Then he got an idea. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on the pool!"
Bulbasaur then used his vine and started to spin the water in the area surrounding his platform. Soon, he was making a whirlpool with such force that it was pulling Staryu into it.
"Staryu!" Misty screamed as Bulbasaur grabbed the star Pokemon with his vines and wrapped the Pokemon so it couldn't escape. "Staryu, use your Water Gun attack on Bulbasaur now!"
Staryu leaned the top tip towards Bulbasaur and used a close ranged attack on him. But Bulbasaur and Gilbert were undeterred as the Pallet Town trainer gave his starter the command to finish Staryu off. Bulbasaur used such force on the Star Shape Pokemon, it ended up knocking Misty's Pokemon out!
"Staryu is unable to battle," the referee declared, "This round goes to Gilbert and his Bulbasaur!"
"Good job, Bulbasaur!" Gilbert said to his Pokemon, "Just like in the Pewter Gym!"
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said.
"But the battle isn't over yet," Misty pointed out, "You and your Bulbasaur might be good, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve."
"Maybe you do," Gilbert said, "But with my gym experience so far, I doubt that I need anything more than just Bulbasaur." He smiled smugly as he thought back to his experiences with the Pewter Gym Leader Forrest and his Rock-type Pokemon. His Geodude and Onix might have appeared to be tough Pokemon on the surface, but they were both dealt with easily by his Bulbasaur.
Misty gasped at what he just said out loud. He didn't need anything more than Bulbasaur? He was in a gym, and the whole focus of gyms is testing the challenger's strength in battles. And challengers needed to use a wide variety of Pokemon (most of the time). "I need to teach Gilbert a lesson about how important teamwork with multiple Pokemon is… but how?" She then got an idea…
As the gym battle between Misty and Gilbert raged on, Daisy and Tracey were in the basement of the gym.
"So Daisy," Tracey asked, "What is it that you want me to help you with?"
"Well, there are some pipes I want you to look at," Daisy said. They knelt down to the ground and saw the pipe was leaking. "Do you think you can, like, repair it?"
"I think I can," Tracey said, "I repair the pipes over at the lab sometimes."
"Thank you so much, Tracey," Daisy said with a smile.
"Yeah," Tracey said as he also smiled and got to work.
"Togetic?" Misty said to the stands, where Togetic was watching her mama battle Gilbert.
"Toge?" The white Pokemon chirped as she tilted her head in confusion, as if to ask her mama what she wanted.
"I know you never did this before, but do you think you can fight for me?" Misty asked.
"Chika?" Togetic asked as she flew towards her mother's side. She was a bit nervous about fighting. She never really fought for her mother in a battle before. The only time she remembered fighting for her mother against someone in a serious battle was against Ash, and only then was it to stop her "uncle" from using her "big brother", Pikachu. And now she was being asked to help her mother in a gym battle. Was this really a good idea?
"I know it is a lot to ask of you, Togetic, but I am sure it will be okay," Misty said to comfort her daughter.
"So then, do you want to use Togetic?" the referee asked.
"Toge!" Togetic said as she flew onto the battlefield.
"I will take that as a yes," the referee said.
"Hold it!" Gilbert said, "I thought gym leaders were only supposed to use one type of Pokemon! I doubt that Togetic is a Water-type Pokemon."
"Actually, there is no such rule saying that gym leaders are limited to one type," Misty pointed out, remembering some of Ash's gym battles, where his opponent didn't use the type they were supposedly focused on using.
"She is correct," the referee said to Gilbert, "So your opponent is going to be Togetic."
"Okay then," Gilbert said as he looked at Bulbasaur, "We can do this, right?"
"Bubla!" Bulbsaur said as round two started off. Gilbert started the battle between his Pokemon and Misty's by telling his Bulbasaur to use a Razor Leaf attack. Bulbasaur obeyed, launching a series of leaves towards Togetic.
"Dodge them," Misty told her Togetic, "And then use a Metronome attack!" As the leaves drew closer towards the airborne Pokemon, Togetic dodged the attack and allowed it to hit the roof before waving her little arms back and forth to draw a random move. Her arms started to glow before she finally landed on an attack: Flamethrower. A jet of flames came towards the Grass-type starter Pokemon. Both Gilbert and his Pokemon gasped as the flames hit Bulbasaur, knocking him backwards into the pool. He ended up floating to the surface, his bulb completely submerged and his eyes replaced with swirls.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle!" the referee declared, "Which means the battle is now tied! Gilbert, send out your second and final Pokemon!"
Gilbert was sweating bullets. Bulbasaur was his plan going into the gym battle, and now he was pretty much screwed. "Why?" Gilbert asked himself, "Bulbasaur worked for Forrest… So why didn't Bulbasaur work for this battle?"
"Gilbert," the referee reminded, "Pick your next Pokemon, or it will be a forfeit to Misty!"
"Okay, okay," Gilbert said as he returned Bulbasaur to his Pokeball and pulled out his second Pokemon, "Spinarak, help me out!"
A green spider like Pokemon appeared from its Pokeball. Misty shivered a bit at the sight of the Bug-type Pokemon, but kept her cool as the referee resumed the battle, with the winner of this round deciding the match.
"Alright, Spinarak," Gilbert said, "Use String Shot on Togetic!"
"Spin!" Spinarak said as it shot a silky strand at Togetic, but as it got close, Misty gave her next command to Togetic.
"Togetic, use Safeguard!" At her mother's orders, she started to glow a brilliant blue color. A protective shield formed around herself, and it prevented Spinarak's String Shot from hitting her.
"What?" Gilbert asked in complete shock, even though it was clear to everyone that he was not prepared to face Misty at all.
"Okay, Togetic," Misty said as she pointed at Spinarak. "Let's finish things off!"
"Toge!" Togetic said as she flew in towards the Bug/Poison-type.
But before Togetic could even get a hit in, Gilbert pulled out Spinarak's Pokeball and said, "Spinarak, return." He wasn't even looking at his Pokemon as Spinarak was pulled in by its Pokeball's tractor beam.
"To-jee-ka?" Togetic asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"I think I might have gone a little too hard on him," Misty said. Of course, she didn't understand what Togetic actually meant, but being so close to the Happiness Pokemon gave her a good idea of what she meant. "Come on, Togetic, we're going to the Pokemon Center."
"Toge togeka," Togetic said, trying to tell Misty that she still had a job to do.
"I know more challengers might come, Togetic," Misty said, "But I need to see if Gilbert is okay after his loss, and maybe even help him out."
With that, Misty rushed out of the Cerulean City gym and towards the Pokemon Center in order to help out the trainer she just defeated.
Gilbert was waiting in the Pokemon Center lobby, still depressed about his loss to Misty. He was also upset about what happened to Bulbasaur. He did so well in the Pewter City gym. He didn't understand how he couldn't beat the Cerulean Gym just as easily, especially since grass-type Pokemon were supposed to be good against Water-types.
"What went wrong?" Gilbert asked nobody in particular, "Maybe I picked the wrong Pokemon. Ash's Bulbasaur was so cool when I saw him at the lab… I hoped MY Bulbasaur would be just as cool with how he dealt with Forrest. If he is unable to handle the second gym leader, how am I going to make it any further?"
"By using your other Pokemon to start with," Gilbert heard a voice say. The young boy from Pallet Town looked up and saw Misty, her Togetic on her shoulder.
"Misty?" Gilbert asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to talk to you," Misty told Gilbert. "Your Bulbasaur did very well during the gym battle today, but I think you need to think about using your other Pokemon in important battles. It is a trainer's job to make sure their Pokemon are working together as a team and not relying on just one of their Pokemon. Why do you think most gym leaders use multiple Pokemon?"
Gilbert simply looked at the water-type specialist for a moment, to ponder the question she asked, "You're right. It's just that I want my Bulbasaur to be like Ash's, and I thought that by using Bulbasaur in all of my battles, he would get stronger."
"Ash used his starter in a large stretch of his battles as well," Misty said, being there for most of the fourteen consecutive gym challenges Ash had where Pikachu was involved in some way. It even got to the point where she had to tell Ash to start letting his other Hoenn Pokemon have some experience battling through their emails. "But he understood that some of his other Pokemon could help out as well, and didn't have Pikachu get all the glory. He recently had a gym battle in the Hoenn region where he didn't use Pikachu, and lost pretty horribly. But you know what he did? He went out and did some training with his new Pokemon, and was able to defeat the gym leader in a rematch."
Gilbert then gave Misty a determined look, "Then I think I know what I am going to do… I am going to go and train my Pokemon for my rematch with you!"
"That's the spirit," Misty said as the two of them shook hands. Just then, Nurse Joy called from behind the counter, "Gilbert, your Bulbasaur is healthy and ready to go!"
Gilbert went to collect his Pokemon before heading out. Misty and Togetic watched the Pallet Town trainer head out to bond with his Pokemon and train them.
"Well, Togetic," Misty said, "Let's head back to the gym."
"To-chi-ka!" Togetic said.
The rest of the day went pretty good for Misty. After fulfilling her hours and closing the gym for the night, she retired to her room to see what Ash was up to. Daisy decided to take Tracey out to dinner as a congratulatory gift for helping her out today, and to return him to the lab once they were done. As for what Ash and friends were up to? Well, they were in Verdanturf Town, where May ended up winning a ribbon against a coordinator named Timmy, also known as "The Phantom". Misty was typing up her email after Togetic enjoyed the show that May sent them.
Hey there, Ash. Today was an amazing day for me and my Togetic. We ended up having a challenger come over to the gym today, and he was from Pallet Town just like you! He came in for his second gym battle after beating Forrest in Pewter City, and thought he could just steamroll through my gym with just his Bulbasaur. And while it is true that water-type Pokemon are bad against Grass-type Pokemon like Bulbasaur, I decided to teach him a lesson on using his whole team during battles, something that you may or may not have forgotten to do earlier on in the region. And that is when Togetic made her gym battle debut, knocking out Gilbert's Bulbasaur and getting a technical KO on his Spinarak (Gilbert recalled the Pokemon before it could be attacked). It ended up teaching Gilbert a lesson, and he decided to go and do some training before our rematch.
As for the contest, Togetic really liked seeing the highlights of May's battle against Timmy. And while supporting her son FAR from undoes all of the damage his mother did to him, it is certainly a step in the right direction for those involved. Kinda makes me want my own maternal support, who vanished years ago… Anyways, don't forget to thank May for the highlights, Ash!
Misty
Misty looked over the email with Togetic before hitting "Send".
And so, Togetic's first gym battle was a success, as it gave some much needed experience not only for Misty's baby girl, but for a trainer who needed some help as well. But will things be different in their rematch? Stay tuned!
TO BE CONTINUED…
An Instrumental Version of Ain't the Same, I am the Power Plays, with clips from the episode on one side, credits on the other)
THE MISTY CHRONICLES
INSPIRED BY THE STORIES AND CHARACTERS OF:
Satoshi Tajiri
Takeshi Shudo
WRITTEN BY:
Northstar Pokeshipper
BETA READ BY:
Accanthus Addams
OPENING SONG WRITTEN BY:
TheGlassyGuyArt
STARRING:
Rachael Lillis
Veronica Taylor
Bella Hudson
Sean Schemmel
Greg Abbey
Marc Thompson
Michael Haigney
Kayzie Rogers
Eric Stuart
Unsho Ishizuka
Mike Pollock
VOICE OF TOGETIC:
Satomi Korogi
SPECIAL THANKS:
Force Smuggler and ClearAwe, for reviewing.
You, for reading this!