Early the next morning, the streets of Shalour City were nearly empty as the morning sun peeked over the horizon, save for one teenager walking down the main street. This young redheaded girl wore an orange jacket over an athletic two-piece swimsuit, and would have easily fit in with the other swimmers that were out during the day. She looked over one building after another as she walked along, eventually stopping in front of the Pokémon Center.

As she looked up at the building, she felt a wide smile spread across her face, knowing who was sleeping inside right now. It had been years since she had last seen her friends, and happy memories of their travels together were flooding her mind. She was greatly looking forward to saying hello, catching up with them, and seeing how they had grown.

After a few moments, she sighed and shook herself out of her reverie. She took a deep breath as she lifted the megaphone she held in her right hand, bringing it to her mouth and bellowing into it.

"Ash Ketchum! You get your lazy butt out of bed and get outside this instant!"

Immediately, sleeping trainers in the Pokémon Center started waking up, wondering who was making such a din outside. Serena, Iris and Brock were all sitting bolt upright in bed, looking down at Ash, who had fallen out of his bunk entirely, tangled up in his sheets.

"Mmph… what the…" He fought with the sheets for a second until he extricated himself, quickly standing up and rushing to the window, vaguely recognizing the voice that had yelled his name. As he looked outside, he quickly spotted the girl making all the ruckus, his eyes wide as he realized who it was.

"No way!" He turned on his heel and raced toward the door, yanking it open and scrambling downstairs. Everyone watched him go for a moment, before Serena and Iris quickly hopped out of bed, taking Ash's place at the window. Brock followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing exactly who was waiting for Ash outside.

After racing downstairs at an Olympian pace, Ash stepped through the front doors of the Pokémon Center, his eyes focusing on the girl who was standing on the sidewalk, arms folded. He immediately recognized the girl's red hair, her single short pigtail, her teal eyes, and her trademark piercing glare. He grinned wide and started running toward her excitedly.

"Misty! What are you doing herglblblgblbll," he called out just as he took a Water Gun to the face, courtesy of Misty's Staryu, which knocked him onto his back. Misty tossed her megaphone on the grass in front of the Pokémon Center, marching toward him, as Ash's friends watched the exchange from above.

"Who on Earth is that?" Iris wondered. "How does she know Ash? Why is she shooting water at him?"

"I'm not sure," Serena replied. "But from the way she's acting, I think she's some kind of drill sergeant?" Brock smirked from behind them, as they all watched the girl march forward.

"Brock tells me you've been getting lazy," she scolded. "You strolled right into the Shalour City Gym, thinking you could steamroll it with a couple of type advantage Pokémon."

"Blurbl," Ash replied, sitting up and spitting out a mouthful of water.

"We Water-type Gym Leaders deal with an endless parade of trainers like you every day, thinking they can get an easy win with a couple of Thunder Bolts." She stood over him and leaned down menacingly, her hands on her hips and her eyes on his. "You think we just roll over and hand them their badge? No! We beat them into the ground! And that's exactly what Siebold did to you!"

He looked back at her with something approaching fear in his eyes, wanting to defend himself but knowing better than to try when she was like this. "Why… why are you here?"

"Why do you think? I'm here to make sure you don't humiliate yourself a second time." She stood up fully, towering over him. "Meet me at the Ambergris Street pool in fifteen minutes. We've got a lot of work to do." She turned and walked off without another word, grabbing her megaphone off the ground as she passed by.

Ash watched her go for a minute, a wide variety of thoughts and emotions coursing through him at his old friend's sudden reappearance and demeanor. Once she had disappeared from his view, he picked himself up and quickly headed back inside to get ready. If there was one thing he knew for sure about Misty, it was that upsetting her was not a good idea.

Fifteen minutes later, Ash and Misty were standing on opposite sides of the Ambergris Street pool, which she had hastily converted into a battlefield by creating some ice floes. Pikachu was at his usual battle position, sitting to Ash's left at his feet, while a Staryu was in position next to Misty. Ash's traveling companions were still at the Pokémon Center, showering and eating at a more leisurely pace before they came to watch the impromptu training session.

"Alright, Ash, let's see how well you battle against Staryu," she began. "See if you can take it down. But there's one rule: no direct type-advantage attacks. You can't damage it with any Grass-type or Electric-type attacks. Got it?"

"None at all?" Ash blinked. "That's almost all Snivy and Pikachu have! How am I supposed to take Staryu down without them?"

"That's for you to figure out," she answered rather unhelpfully, before sending her Pokémon out onto the battlefield. "Now, who's getting trained first?"

Ash glanced down toward his feet. "Pikachu, you're up first. Do your best." Pikachu glanced up at his trainer for a moment, a bit surprised and skeptical, before getting on all fours and running out onto the nearest ice floe. He looked across the pool at Misty for a moment, recognizing this side of her, but still no less intimidated by it.

Misty quickly got started, making the first move. "Rapid Spin, Staryu!"

Her Pokémon started spinning around at a high speed, as if it were a buzzsaw, before it dove quickly at its opponent. Pikachu yelped and quickly leaped out of the way, landing on the edge of the ice floe as Staryu zoomed past.

"Wait for it to stop, then use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. His Pokémon nodded, dodging another dive bomb from Staryu, before it slowly came to a stop. Pikachu acted quickly, leaping forward across several platforms before leaping up for the tackle; he slammed into his opponent with his entire body, knocking Staryu down onto one of the floes, where it took a second to get back up.

"Great job! Now use Iron Tail!" Ash followed up. His Pokémon responded quickly, his tail becoming hard as iron, and he began to swing it downward, ready to deliver a powerful blow.

"Staryu, use Water Gun!"

Right before Pikachu struck his foe, Staryu bent forward a bit, a large jet of water spraying out of its topmost limb. Pikachu took the water blast head-on, and was forcefully knocked back into the water; he resurfaced quickly, scrambling to get back onto the ice.

"Hold on!" Ash called out, stepping closer to the edge. "We can't use elemental attacks, but you can? How is that fair?"

"Do you want to win this badge or not?!" Misty shot back, before turning to her Pokémon again. "Use Bubble Beam! Keep Pikachu off balance!"

Ash's Pokémon yelped as Staryu shot a stream of surprisingly strong bubbles his way; he quickly leaped out of the way, struggling to keep a grip on the icy surface, before another stream of bubbles knocked him back into the water.

Ash groaned as Pikachu resurfaced once again, coughing and climbing onto the ice floe. He could already tell he had a long day ahead of him.

Some time later, Ash's friends had arrived at the pool as well, and were sitting nearby as Staryu and Snivy sparred. All three of them were watching attentively, but for markedly different reasons. Serena was worried about how this mysterious and bossy girl would treat Ash during training; Brock was watching two old friends interact as they once did; and Iris was still feeling guilty over how she acted, hoping that Misty would give Ash the help he needed.

Eventually, it became clear that both Pokémon were slowing down and losing energy, after the long and intense training. As Snivy was preparing to attack again, Misty called her Staryu back to her side.

"That's enough for now. It's time for a break." She stepped away from the pool and walked over to the nearby bleachers, opening up her bag and taking out a lunch she had prepared.

Ash sighed a bit in relief, ready for a break himself, and followed her over. He picked up his own bag, taking out a package of Pokémon food and some bowls, setting them out. Snivy and Pikachu walked over, ready to eat, as Ash took Skorupi out of his Poké Ball, who had gotten some training earlier in the day. He poured the food into each bowl, getting ready to hand them out, before Misty suddenly stepped in between him and his Pokémon.

"Hold it, all of you," she commanded, looking down at them. Skorupi stopped in his tracks, jumping a bit, while Snivy slumped forward, exasperated and hungry. Pikachu stood at attention, as if she were his commanding officer.

"All three of you need to be better swimmers. It got in the way during training, and I'm told it was a big problem during your Gym Battle, too." She folded her arms. "I want ten laps around the pool from each of you. Once you've done that, then you can eat. If you eat first, you're all going to cramp up."

Pikachu nodded and quickly turned around, leaping into the pool and starting to swim; Skorupi scuttled over as well, approaching the water nervously and not jumping in quite yet. Snivy stood her ground, looking up at Misty, not about to take orders from this stranger and her haughty attitude.

"You too, Snivy. Let's go."

The Pokémon looked past her, seeing the full bowl of food sitting on the bleacher, calling her name. She extended her vines and reached them out, intending to grab the food and bring it over. Misty reacted quickly, throwing her arm in the way of Snivy's vines, causing them to wrap tightly around it.

Snivy's eyes widened as much as they could, and she glared up angrily at Misty, who glared right back with a look that could peel paint off a wall. The two stared each other down for several moments, the vines still holding Misty's arm tightly, threatening to pull her forward and topple her over. Snivy eventually relented, retracting her vines and turning back toward the pool, walking with as much of her wounded pride as she could muster. Misty watched the Pokémon hop into the water before she turned around, taking a seat on the bleachers and starting to eat.

Ash watched the exchange unfold, impressed, before turning to eat his own meal. As he walked toward the bleachers, he heard what sounded like frantic splashing, along with the sound of a panicked squeal. He turned quickly, seeing Skorupi flailing about in the water, clearly not an adept swimmer.

"Whoa, hold on!" He rushed over as quickly as he safely could, kneeling at the side of the pool and reaching underneath his Pokémon, holding him up and giving him a chance to breathe.

"Just relax, Skorupi, I've got you. Try kicking with all your legs at once. Propel yourself forward."

His Pokémon did as he was told, trying to kick in a more synchronized manner, as Ash held him from underneath. As he watched Skorupi try to get a handle on swimming, he heard footsteps from someone walking in his direction; from the gentle lightness of each step, he knew exactly who was approaching.

"How do you think training is going, Ash?" Serena asked.

"Alright, I guess?" he responded, keeping his focus on Skorupi, making sure the Pokémon didn't drown. "She's making me think about battles in a way I usually don't, which is tough. It's definitely not training I'm used to, but I think we're making progress."

"That's good to hear." She glanced over at Misty, watching as she used a pair of chopsticks to pop a sushi roll into her mouth. "Is Misty always this… well…"

"Intense?" Ash offered.

"Sure, let's go with that."

"Not usually, no." He thought the answer over for a moment. "Well… not always. She doesn't like to mess around. It's fine, though. I'm not bothered by it."

"Are you sure?" Serena kept her eyes on Misty, not having seen a pleasant expression on her face since she arrived.

"Totally." Ash finally let go of Skorupi, watching proudly as the scorpion Pokémon started zooming across the surface of the water, no longer floundering. "She's a great friend. Trust me."

She nodded. "Alright, I trust you. But I sure hope this all pays off."

"That makes two of us." He stood up, stretching his back for a second. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starved." She nodded, following him over to the bleachers, where they sat down and shared a meal together. Brock and Iris also took the time to eat, talking together about how the training was going. Eventually, three tired and soaked Pokémon emerged from the pool to get their meals as well.

Long after everyone had eaten, Ash and Misty were back to battling, as the others watched. Snivy and Staryu had been squaring off for quite some time, and while both of them were winded, Snivy was the one who had more energy left in her tank.

"Don't let her win, Staryu!" Misty commanded, her competitiveness on full display even during this training session. "Use Swift!"

Her Pokémon let out a cry, summoning more strength, as a number of glowing stars shot out of its gem. Ash watched them approach, feeling confident about his response.

"Dodge it, Snivy! Use your vines and get closer!"

Snivy nodded, extending her vines and using them to push herself around, moving more quickly than she would otherwise. Staryu followed her, trying her best to land a blow, but Snivy was too agile for her exhausted opponent. Once she was close enough, she launched herself toward Staryu, using her shoulder to tackle her opponent and send it toward the ice floe underneath.

"Great work!" Ash cheered, starting to feel excited at the prospect of finally besting Staryu. "Now finish it with Slam!"

Snivy nodded, reaching her vines out and grabbing the floe below; she used her vines as leverage to pull herself downward at a high speed, her body aimed directly at Staryu. She let a smirk spread across her face, feeling confident and ready to put this Pokémon out of commission. Right before she landed, her eyes widened as she saw Staryu turn into a collection of red energy, summoned back to its Poké Ball. Unable to stop herself, she crashed into the ice at full force, smashing directly through it and landing in the water underneath with a large splash.

"What?! What are you doing?" Ash looked upward at Misty, who was holding out Staryu's Poké Ball in front of her. "That's not fair! We were about to finally win!" Snivy emerged from under the water as well, glaring angrily at Misty as she treaded water, sore and upset at being deprived of the satisfaction of victory.

"Practice is over. We're out of time." Misty reattached the Poké Ball to her belt. "You need to get to the Pokémon Center and heal these three up, if you're going to have time to battle Siebold again today. I'll be waiting for you at the gym."

Everyone watched as she grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before walking toward the pool exit. Ash was still searching for words, trying to articulate his thoughts, frustration and gratitude wrestling for dominance in his mind. Just before she walked out the door, she turned and glanced back at him.

"Good luck, Ash. You can do this."

With those words, she turned away and left, leaving everyone else a bit speechless.