Groggy, sore, and no less confused than she had been before she'd slept, Mary-Sue poked her head out of her tent to a cloudy late morning, and was shocked to find that she was the first one up. Staring hard at the gray sky, she considered shutting herself back in her tent and trying to get some more sleep, then sighed and dragged herself outside and started packing. When she was done and the other tents remained still, she chose to restart the campfire and start cooking one of her ration packs herself.
Jovi was the next person to rouse, and seemed equally surprised to find Mary-Sue cooking breakfast.
"Good morning, Masie," she said, her brow furrowing.
"Morning," Mary-Sue grunted.
"…You okay?" Jovi asked hesitantly.
"No," Mary-Sue sighed, "but I think I will be."
"You will," Jovi assured her. "You're doing great already."
"Thanks," Mary-Sue smiled at her friend.
As the easy-make noodles came to a boil, Aaron's tent finally opened, the foreign boy peeking his head out and blinking upon seeing the girls up and ready to go.
"Good morning," Jovi greeted him. "You slept in."
"Guess so," Aaron mumbled.
Mary-Sue eyed him for a long minute. He seemed as calm and neutral-faced as ever, but the fact that he'd taken so long to get up was so unlike him, she couldn't help reflecting on his wild music the previous night.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
"…Yeah," he answered, climbing outside into the cloudy day. "I'm okay."
"I'm really impressed with how well you held it together yesterday," Jovi remarked. "You're tough, Aaron."
"I've had to be," he said evenly as he packed up his tent. "I grew up in Ballonlea. Have either of you ever heard of a Pokémon called Hatterene?"
"Hatterene?" Jovi and Mary-Sue looked at each other, then shook their heads. "No."
"It's a fairy-type Pokémon native to Galar," Aaron said; "naturally, they live in Ballonlea Forest. Hatterene are rare, but they're very…sensitive. If they detect anyone in their vicinity feeling too intense of an emotion, they basically go berserk and do everything in their power to stop that emotion."
The girls blinked.
"Houses have been destroyed by Hatterene just because the families living there got into arguments," Aaron went on. "Anyone who grows up in Ballonlea knows they need to keep their emotions in check just in case a Hatterene might be nearby. Babies are kept at the center of the town, as far from the forest as possible, just as a safety precaution."
Both of the girls stared at him for a long minute as he finished packing his things.
"…Aaron?" Mary-Sue eventually asked. "Can you please promise me something?"
"Huh?" He turned to blink at her questioningly.
She forced a smile. "Can you please promise me that I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever have to go to Ballonlea for any reason?" she all but begged.
Incredibly, Aaron laughed. "Don't worry," he said, "I promise I'll never ask you to visit my hometown."
"Ballonlea sounds like a horrible place to live," Jovi commented as the noodles were dished out.
"Yeah, there are definitely things about it I don't miss," Aaron agreed, still smiling.
Somehow, the mood had lightened, and they finished breakfast and broke camp feeling almost unburdened. When they returned to the road, though, Aaron hesitated.
"Hey Jovi?" he asked. "Do you want to…go after where those Cipher goons were thrown?" He gestured vaguely in the direction the criminals had been tossed to the horizon.
"No…" Jovi frowned. "Honestly, I've been thinking about it all night, about what the presence of this Team Rocket means for my mission, and…I think maybe my brother was right when he said things aren't as urgent as I thought."
"How do you mean?" Mary-Sue asked as they turned and started walking for Cerulean City.
"Well, if Cipher and these Team Rocket people are going to be fighting with each other over territory, that might slow Cipher down enough to give the rest of Team Spirit enough time to clean up Galar and then come here," Jovi said. "It might really just be for the best if I keep an eye on things and only interfere with Cipher wherever I happen to run into them, instead of actively chasing them. So…" She turned to her companions and offered a smile. "…you guys can just go on your Pokémon journey taking the gym challenge, and I'll just tag along. That might work out best for everyone."
"Why do you need to stick with us?" Aaron inquired, not harshly.
"Your music," Jovi answered; "I need your help purifying Bibarel, and now Onix - and any other Shadow Pokémon I might end up snagging along the way. There's really not much I can do for them, since the Purification Chambers are full, but your music really helps a lot. I mean…" The teenager curled in on herself. "…if you guys want me to just go my own way, I can't blame you, and I don't really have the right to ask anything of you…"
"No, we want to help!" Mary-Sue assured her. "Right, Aaron?"
"Yeah," he said, albeit slowly.
"You can travel with us," Mary-Sue told Jovi, "and we'll help you however we can."
"When did you and I agree to spend the whole journey together?" Aaron questioned. "I thought we were going to go our separate ways after Cerulean."
"Huh?" Mary-Sue started and turned to him, heat rushing to her face. "Oh, I…I guess I kinda thought…I mean…"
"I'd like to keep traveling with you, Aaron, if you don't mind," Jovi said. "Please, you can do so much more for my mission than I can, and…you're also just a cool person."
"Oh, uh…thanks," he mumbled. "And, um…if you want to stick with me, I guess I'd rather Masie join us too."
"Really?!" Mary-Sue gasped.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "It's…less awkward if you two can keep each other company and do girl stuff together."
"'Girl stuff'?" Mary-Sue tilted her head, baffled by the term.
"Are you sure you want to come with us, though, Masie?" Jovi asked, drawing her attention.
"Of course!" Mary-Sue answered. "Why wouldn't I?"
"You heard that Admin yesterday," Jovi said grimly; "as a known member of Team Spirit, I'm a target for Cipher, they're going to try to find ways to get rid of me. If you travel with me, you'll be in danger…like yesterday."
Mary-Sue gulped hard, shuddering as she remembered being cornered by a rampaging Onix, helpless and convinced she would soon be crushed. "I…I want to be like the Champion," she managed. "If he were here, he wouldn't run away, he'd do everything he could to help. I want to be brave and strong like him. I'm sorry I lost it yesterday-"
"Don't be," Jovi admonished gently. "You had every right to freak out. I was supposed to protect you, I promised your parents I would, and I failed."
"How could you protect me when you couldn't even protect yourself?" Mary-Sue argued. "It's not your fault, you were in just as bad a situation as I was. And if Budew and I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have made it."
"We got lucky," Jovi pointed out.
"Yeah, well…I want to help," Mary-Sue stated. "The three of us are going to travel together, and I won't be talked out of it."
Silence stretched between the three friends for a minute; Mary-Sue didn't dare look at either of her companions for fear of what she might see on their faces.
"Just, um…don't tell my parents," she added after a minute. "They can't know what happened in Mt. Moon, any of it."
"You're not going to tell them?" Aaron asked.
"I can't," Mary-Sue said, shaking her head. "They can't know. I mean, you saw how much my dad freaked out when he heard I got lost in Viridian Forest without supplies, if he knew about yesterday…" She shook her head again, this time sadly. "I honestly don't know what he'd do. He'd lose it completely. So…he can't know."
"I'm surprised he let you go on a Pokémon journey at all," Jovi commented.
"Oh, he didn't want to," Mary-Sue explained. "He desperately wanted me not to take the gym challenge. My mom had to strong-arm him into it."
"Your mom is, uh…" Aaron cleared his throat awkwardly. "Don't take this the wrong way, but she…kinda seems like a bully."
"Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, but…the way she hit your dad like that…" Jovi agreed hesitantly.
Mary-Sue sighed. "I know that probably looked really bad," she said, "but my dad honestly doesn't mind. I know my parents are different, they've never pretended otherwise - in fact, I think they're kinda proud of how different they are. They've embarrassed me plenty of times by making a scene in public, but…they do love each other, and respect each other."
"Respect?"
"In our household, 'no' means 'no', 'stop' means 'stop', and 'don't' means 'don't'," Mary-Sue recited. "We can be mean to each other as much as we like, we can hit each other and prank each other, but only until someone wants it to stop. If anyone ever says 'enough', it stops, end of discussion. It's never okay to hit someone if they're not okay with it."
"Odd house rules," Aaron muttered.
"I know it's weird," Mary-Sue conceded. "I know other families work differently, my parents made sure I knew that growing up. But…really, my dad's kind of a spaz, he needs a smack sometimes - when my mom goes away for Contests, she leaves her Wobbuffet behind so he can ask it to hit him in her place if he needs it."
"He asks it?" Jovi gasped.
"Yep," Mary-Sue nodded. "The way mom tells it, he wasn't nearly as bad before I was born, but becoming a dad permanently kicked his anxiety into overdrive, he needs someone to be available to smack him out of a panic attack pretty much at all times now. But if he ever didn't want my mom to hit him, he'd tell her not to, and she wouldn't."
"Has that ever happened?" Jovi questioned.
"Once or twice, yeah," Mary-Sue nodded. "Like I said, my parents respect each other, in their own way. I've seen him tell her to back off sometimes, and she always does when he asks, and they switch to talking things out. Mom has a temper, but she can be really gentle when she needs to be, with my dad and with me. Our house is always about only doing what everyone else is okay with." She sighed heavily. "But I don't think any amount of punches would be enough to bring my dad back to his senses if he found out I almost died in Mt. Moon yesterday. So please, please don't tell them, either of them - like, don't even mention it in front of them. Please?"
"I guess…it's your business," Jovi relented. "But you know, he's not wrong to worry about you."
"It won't do anyone any good," Mary-Sue countered.
"She's right," Aaron spoke up, and both girls turned to him questioningly. "I mean, you're both right, but Masie's right to say her dad losing his mind wouldn't help anyone."
"True…" Jovi mused.
"I'll stay out of it," Aaron said with finality.
"Guess I might as well do the same," Jovi concurred, though her tone was uncertain.
"Thanks, guys," Mary-Sue smiled. "I really appreciate it."
No one responded, and after a minute, Aaron reached into his backpack and pulled out his harmonica, starting up a mournful but peaceful melody unprompted. Jovi quickly let Bibarel out to walk with them and enjoy the music.
"Are you going to call out Onix, too?" Mary-Sue asked Jovi.
"Nah," the older girl replied, her cheeks coloring for some reason. "I would, but Onix is kinda…big."
"Yeah." Mary-Sue looked more closely Bibarel. "Bibarel looks…different," she remarked. "Not as scary as before."
"Its heart gauge has cleared more than twenty percent," Jovi informed her brightly. "Every one-fifth of the way to being ready for purification, Shadow Pokémon remember themselves a little more." She let out a rueful chuckle. "You might think it would speed up the process, but it doesn't. Still, it's not as mindless as it was."
"I'm glad," Mary-Sue said.
About half an hour later, the clouds above began to release their load, warm summer rain falling from the sky and filling the air with a fresh, humid scent. Before anyone got too wet, Jovi took out a surprisingly large collapsable umbrella from her pack and held it up, just barely managing to cover all three of them; even then, Aaron barely slowed in playing his tune. Mary-Sue found herself gazing at Aaron thoughtfully as they walked; it was as though he was trying to say something with his music, something she just barely couldn't quite understand.
Having set out late, they were still a fair ways away from Cerulean City when night fell, and the rain didn't let up. Jovi did her best to help everyone stay relatively dry with her umbrella while they set up their tents; a campfire was out of the question, so they ate some dry snacks. When they let their Pokémon out to eat, Magikarp and Budew both seemed delighted by the rain, while Zubat actually flew into Mary-Sue's tent despite the Pokémon repellent in a desperate bid to stay dry. Mary-Sue took some time to give Zubat the long-overdue explanation that she was a trainer and they were going to be battling other trainers and Pokémon together, and to her relief, it seemed okay with that.
By the time they got back on the road the next day, Mary-Sue had started to feel excited again - she'd decided back in Pewter that the Cerulean Gym was going to be her first, and the time had almost come to challenge it. For all the confusion and terror her journey had been filled with so far, to be approaching one of her main goals reignited her passion for her dream of becoming a Pokémon master.
At last, under a partly-cloudy sky, the trio returned to civilization, stepping into the bounds of Cerulean City. Mary-Sue grinned and stretched, tension falling from her shoulders like a lead weight.
"Made it," she sighed happily. "Finally. Let's have Nurse Joy heal up our Pokémon, then take on the gym!"
"Aren't you going to call your parents?" Jovi asked.
"I'll call them after I get my first badge," Mary-Sue told her, having thought about this all day. "That way I'll be able to avoid telling them about Mt. Moon."
"Well, I need to give a full report to my brother," the teenager said. "I think I can cover everything myself, though, so if you want to go on ahead to the gym, I'll catch up."
"You sure we don't need to weigh in?" Aaron asked.
"I can handle it," Jovi assured him, her lips twisting into a slight frown. "And…I get the feeling he and I are going to be arguing for a while. Don't wait on me."
"If you say so," the foreign boy shrugged.
Mary-Sue barely paid attention as they walked down the street, focusing instead on all the people around them with relief. Here, surrounded by people, no one could ambush them or try to kill them - gang wars didn't happen in city streets, not when there were so many normal people around. Nothing bad could happen now that they were in a city, even if this city was a lot like Pewter in that it was full of trees and lawns around each house rather than being crammed full of skyscrapers.
In the heart of town, the Pokémon Center stood a few blocks away from the gym, at least according to the street signs, and everyone handed their Pokéballs to Nurse Joy to have their companions looked over.
"Come to think of it, Aaron, I've never seen you battle," Mary-Sue remarked while the magical creatures were healed. "You never did agree to my challenge."
"I think I'll wait for us to be on even ground before I battle you, Masie," he said. "No offense, but you don't have any badges yet, so…"
"Not for much longer!" Mary-Sue grinned. "I'll have one by the end of the day, you just wait and see!"
"Your Pokémon are all in perfect health," Nurse Joy spoke up, wheeling a cart over to them with three small clusters of Pokéballs resting in boxes, and the Pokémon healer smiled. "Best of luck to you at the gym!"
"Thank you!" the trio chirped, taking their respective capsules back.
"Alright, I'm going now!" Mary-Sue stated. "Come on, Aaron!"
"You sure you don't need us, Jovi?" Aaron asked their older companion.
"No," Jovi sighed, "I can handle it. You two go challenge the gym, I'll try to get there in time to see at least one of your battles."
Aaron frowned at the blue-haired girl for a moment, then nodded and stepped for the door, cueing Mary-Sue to sprint ahead of him.
Finally, my first gym battle! she thought, her heart pounding in her chest. The Champion said this was his second badge, but it'll be my first! I can't wait to tell my parents I have a badge, that I'm a real trainer just like the Champion was!
Excitement seized her, and she stumbled as her body leapt into a little dance against her will.
"Slow down, Masie!" Aaron called after her, and she hopped in place and turned to wait for him.
"Why don't you hurry up?" she teased. "Aren't you excited?"
"I already have two badges," he pointed out. "It's not that big of a deal. Though…" He allowed himself a small smile. "I suppose it makes sense to be excited about your first time."
"How did your first gym challenge go?" Mary-Sue asked, a spring in her step even though she'd slowed to a walk.
"It was against this old guy named Giovanni in Viridian City, who specialized in ground-type Pokémon," Aaron told her. "He seemed really stern, kinda scary honestly, but it was my first badge, so he used his weakest team."
"Right," Mary-Sue nodded, "gym leaders choose their teams based on the qualifications of the trainer challenging them."
"Yep." The maroon-haired boy sighed. "It was close, though - a lot closer than my second badge in Pewter. The Viridian City gym leader…honestly, he made me nervous. Something about him just felt…unpleasant."
"Huh," Mary-Sue mused. "Well, I'm going to have to deal with him sooner or later, so…"
"I think I'll let you be the one to deal with that," Aaron said. "I'm not looking forward to seeing that guy again."
"Hmm…" Mary-Sue refocused on their surroundings; the Viridian Gym was a challenge for another day. It was still comforting to be surrounded by people, and she smiled at everyone they passed, just glad for the security of society.
Then, she caught sight of a face that was shockingly familiar.
"Mom?!" the young trainer gasped, breaking into a sprint.
The woman she ran towards had Mrs. Jones's face, her hair and her eyes and her skin, and her lavish outfit would have suited the Crazy Coordinator just fine; the only strange thing was the man whose arm she held, who was most certainly not Mr. Jones, but a stranger with graying curls of dark hair and honey-colored skin.
"Mom!" Mary-Sue shouted, leaping into the path of the woman. "Mom, what are you doing here?! Who's this?"
"Hmm?" Another moment of dissonance rattled Mary-Sue as the woman who looked exactly like her mother did not smile at her, instead almost scowling down as though something dirty had been placed in front of her. "Excuse me, little cretin, but you're in my way," she huffed; her voice was different, too, twisted by a strange accent Mary-Sue had never heard from her mother before.
"Mom?" Mary-Sue blinked. "What's wrong? Why are you acting like you don't know me?" She eyed the man standing beside her mother's doppelgänger. "Are you…cheating on dad?" she whispered.
"You must have me mistaken for someone else," the woman scoffed. "You're no daughter of mine. I'd never let my own flesh and blood run around in such unsightly rags."
Mary-Sue stumbled back a step, a cold pit opening in her stomach. The moment a modicum of space had opened, the woman swept her way past the young trainer without another glance…but the man hesitated.
Brown eyes caught Mary-Sue's attention, as the strange man stared at her with an unsettling intensity. Then, he spoke.
"Are you…Jessica's daughter?" he asked softly, almost fearfully.
"Donovan darling, let's get going!" called the woman who looked identical to Mrs. Jones; the man flinched, fear flashing in his eyes, but he still held Mary-Sue's gaze.
"My mom is…Jessie Jones," Mary-Sue answered hesitantly.
"You do look like her," he remarked, and he gulped before bending down and whispering, "Please, the next time you speak to your mother, please ask her to…remember Ballonlea."
"Remember Ballonlea?" Mary-Sue repeated, blinking dumbly.
"Husband!" The call was sharper, even Mary-Sue flinched at the harshness of it.
"Coming, dear!" the man yelped, and he ran past Mary-Sue to rejoin the strange woman. When Mary-Sue turned, she saw the lady close the hand fan she'd been using to keep the summer heat at bay and whack the man across the face with it, accompanied by some sharp words. In response, he cowered, clearly terrified of his apparent wife.
That settled it; Mary-Sue knew full well that while her mother had a temper, she would never terrorize someone like that - whatever the relationship between these two grown-ups was, it was nothing like what her mom and dad shared, and this woman was absolutely not Mrs. Jones.
"Masie?" Aaron's voice cut through her confusion, and she blinked and turned to her friend. "What was that about?"
"I don't know," she answered, still shaken as she resumed her pace. "I thought that woman was my mother, but…I guess she wasn't." She frowned. "Remember Ballonlea," she repeated to herself. "Why does everything always seem to come back to Ballonlea?"
"Do you wanna ask your mom now?" Aaron offered.
Mary-Sue considered it for a moment, then shook her head. "No," she replied, "I'm not going to call home until I have a badge. Come on, we're almost there!"
Shoving the strange encounter aside and refocusing once more on her goal, Mary-Sue picked up her pace down the road to the Cerulean Gym.
~X~
Cerulean City's Pokémon Gym was an impressive structure all its own, painted with colorful stripes and fronted with a massive image of a Dewgong; Mary-Sue had seen the gym in Celadon from afar, but she'd never set foot in one before. Crossing the threshold made her heart do summersaults in her chest, and she all but skipped her way to the front desk, where a man in a suit sat with a patient smile.
"Hello there, young lady," he said. "Are you here to see the Sensational Sisters, or challenge the Gym Leader?"
"I'm here for a gym challenge!" Mary-Sue declared.
"I'm glad to hear it," the greeter chuckled; "the Sensational Sisters won't be performing until this evening, and I can't let you in early."
"The Sensational Sisters?" Mary-Sue asked.
"Our gym doubles as a water ballet stage," the man explained as he stood up. "We provide water-based entertainment to trainers and non-trainers alike."
"A stage?" Behind Mary-Sue, Aaron spoke up with something akin to horror, and when she looked back at him, his light blue eyes were wide. "Do you mean there will be people watching our gym battles?"
"Oh, no," the greeter assured him, "the stands will be empty for your battle. Are you here to challenge the leader as well?"
"Y-Yes sir," Aaron nodded.
"Excellent!" the man beamed. "Right this way, please."
The two children followed him down a short, cramped hallway, around two bends, and out into a massive open space that was almost entirely taken up by a gigantic swimming pool that was far from empty.
"Wow," Mary-Sue breathed. Water-type Pokémon of all sorts were jumping, splashing, and swimming around in the water; in the distance, several humans joined in, as two women allowed themselves to be carried through the air by leaping Seaking, a third pirouetted between two circling Gorebyss, and a fourth stood on top of a Lapras, apparently calling directions to the others.
"Leader Misty," the man said into a walkie-talkie he took from his belt, "you have challengers."
The woman on the Lapras picked up her own walkie-talkie to receive the call, then began shouting things to the people and Pokémon around her. Everyone came to attention and began to clear out, while the Lapras swam the length of the vast pool with its passenger, bringing its trainer into view. She was tall, very slim, wearing a two-piece dark-blue bathing suit, with her orange hair tied up in a tight bun.
"Hello, challengers," the woman greeted, smiling broadly. Her Lapras came to a stop, and she leapt gracefully from its back to the side of the pool. "My name is Misty, and I'm the Gym Leader here. Who are you?"
"I'm Mary-Sue Jones, from Celadon City!" Mary-Sue answered, struggling not to bounce in place. "I'm here for a badge!"
"Well, we don't just hand those out," Misty chuckled. She glanced over Mary-Sue's shoulder and added, "And what about you, young man?"
Mary-Sue turned around, and saw that Aaron was standing ramrod-straight, his eyes bugging out like a Yanma and his face as red as a Cheri Berry.
Misty giggled. "Never seen a girl in a swimsuit before?" she teased the boy.
"E-Er, I'm sorry!" he yelped, snapping his eyes shut and bowing his head. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine," Misty assured him, still laughing. "You're not the first ten-year-old to give me that look, and you won't be the last. At least you're self-conscious about it."
"Twelve," Aaron mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"I'm twelve, ma'am," Aaron repeated, a bit louder, and Mary-Sue blinked in surprise - she'd assumed they were the same age. "My name is Aaron, and I'm from Ballonlea, in Galar; I'm here on a foreign exchange program."
"Oh." Misty blinked, then smiled again. "Galar, huh? Did you bring some Pokémon from the region?"
"Y-Yes," he stammered, still keeping his eyes squeezed shut. "My partners are all Galarian, actually."
"I look forward to seeing them," Misty told him, still smiling. "And you can stop beating yourself up, it's okay. Just try not to get distracted when we battle, alright?"
"Y-Yes ma'am," Aaron replied. He still didn't open his eyes.
Something had been nagging at Mary-Sue since meeting the Gym Leader, and all at once, it clicked, and she gasped. "Are you the Champion's Misty?" she asked, drawing the grown woman's attention. "The one who was his first travel companion?"
"The Champion?" Misty repeated.
"Ash Ketchum!" Mary-Sue exclaimed. "You're his friend, right?"
"Oh," Misty laughed. "Yep, that's me! I take it you're a fan of his?"
"My dream is to be a Pokémon master, just like him!" Mary-Sue proclaimed. "It's such an honor to meet you! You're so lucky to know him!"
The Gym Leader's laugh was a bit less lighthearted this time. "I only met him because he stole my bike," she informed the young trainer. The smile slid from her face, and she added, "And then he destroyed it. And never paid me back for it."
"Huh?" Mary-Sue blinked.
"Ash likes to gloss over his early days," Misty went on, though her smile returned somewhat, "so I make it a point to tell his fans the truth when I see them: Ash was a hopeless loser when he started his Pokémon journey."
"What?!" Mary-Sue gasped, stumbling back a step.
"He had no idea what he was doing," Misty went on. "But, you know, he learned. He kept training, kept traveling, and even though he started at rock-bottom, he made his way to the top." Her blue-green eyes were kind as they met Mary-Sue's emerald ones. "And now, he's inspiring a whole new generation of trainers. Ash Ketchum is living, breathing proof that anyone can be a Pokémon master, as long as they don't give up."
"W-Well…" Mary-Sue stammered. "H-He can't've…been that bad in the beginning. He earned the badge here."
"Not really," Misty chuckled. "Our battle never finished; I was going to win, but then Team Rocket interrupted and tried to steal our Pokémon, and when Pikachu fended them off, my sisters insisted on giving him the badge anyway."
"Team Rocket?"
"You'll hear a lot of stories like that around Kanto," Misty informed her, and she giggled again. "When you go to Saffron City just south of here, ask the leader there, Sabrina, about her experience with Ash, she's got quite a tale. Erika in Celadon has one, too."
"But…" Mary-Sue frowned. "He must still have been good, though, to fend off Team Rocket," she pointed out. "We ran into them on the way here, they're scary."
"You what?" Misty's eyes went wide. "Did they try to steal your Pokémon?"
"No…" Mary-Sue frowned. "It's a…long story. They were fighting with some other bad people who were trying to, uh, intrude on their turf. But they seem really strong. There was a bunch of them, and they were led by this guy with red hair who had an Alakazam."
"Hmm…" Misty frowned. "I…don't know who you're talking about." Her expression fell further, turning grim. "You must have met some of the more…competent members; you're lucky they didn't pay attention to you. And Ash was lucky he mostly only had to deal with the screw-ups of the team. Say…" She blinked, her head tilting. "Come to think of it, you look kinda familiar…"
An extremely awkward silence fell between the trainers and Gym Leader for a long minute.
"Hey, sis!" called a woman's voice, and Misty perked up. "We're ready for your gym battles!"
"Thanks, Daisy!" Misty called over her shoulder, and she smiled and said to Mary-Sue, "Well, don't worry about that. How many badges do you have so far?"
"You'll be my first one!" Mary-Sue told her, also setting aside the matter of Team Rocket.
"Same for you too, Aaron?" Misty asked the other challenger.
"Er, n-no, I, uh, I have two badges already," Aaron answered; he'd opened his eyes, but was now staring at the floor. "I have the badges from Viridian Gym and Pewter Gym."
"Well then, good," Misty said; "this way we won't have to wait for Nurse Joy to heal my Pokémon between battles. Are you going first, Mary-Sue?"
"Yeah!" Mary-Sue shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "I'm so ready!"
"Alright then," Misty told her; "Lapras will take you to your platform. Hop aboard!" She jumped onto the shelled back of the majestic water-type Pokémon, then held out a hand.
Shaking, Mary-Sue took hold of it and stepped onto the creature, which immediately began to swim towards some floating platforms out in the middle of the pool.
"Are you and the Champion still good friends?" Mary-Sue asked Misty as they rode.
"We don't get see each other very much, since he's always traveling and I have to stay here," Misty answered; "I think he's in Alola right now. But he makes time for me whenever he comes home."
"So cool," Mary-Sue all but squealed.
Within a couple of minutes, they were situated in the arena, and Mary-Sue had to take a deep breath to brace herself. She stood on a red pontoon, while Misty stood across from her on a blue one; between them, several white rafts floated here and there, so Pokémon that couldn't swim or fly could participate.
"The Pokémon Gym Challenge battle between Mary-Sue Jones from Celadon City and the Gym Leader, Misty, is about to begin!" announced a gold-haired woman who stood on the sidelines. "Each participant is allowed to use up to two Pokémon, and only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions! Are you ready?!"
Another steadying breath, and Mary-Sue took the third Pokéball off her backpack strap. "Zubat, I choose you!" she called.
"Zubat bat!" hissed the flying creature as it materialized from the thrown capsule.
"I call…Staryu!" Misty declared, throwing a Pokéball of her own.
"Staaaa," screeched the Pokémon that emerged: a gold-orange thing shaped like a five-pointed star, with a glowing red jewel in its center and no visible eyes or mouth.
"Begin!" called the woman who would be acting as referee.
"Alright, Zubat," Mary-Sue called, "this is the real deal! I know we haven't had a lot of practice yet, but I'm counting on you!"
"Bat zu," it said, not quite as enthusiastically as Mary-Sue would have liked. It was looking around, even though it had no eyes - maybe turning its ears this way and that to hear the sound waves defining its surroundings worked similarly?
"Dive, Staryu!" Misty commanded, and her water-type Pokémon jumped into the pool.
"Use Gust, Zubat!" Mary-Sue called - she knew it could, she'd taken the time to learn that much about her new partner.
"Zuzu bat!" The flying creature beat its wings harder than normal, whipping up the air around it and over the pool; the water stirred, but not nearly enough to disturb wherever Staryu was lying in wait.
"Harder, Zubat!" Mary-Sue pleaded. "You won't reach it like this!"
Before her partner could respond, the star-shaped Pokémon leapt from the water, flying straight for its opponent.
"Look out!"
"Baaat!" Zubat cried, diving wildly to evade the attacking creature.
"Use Wing Attack!" Mary-Sue called.
"Batbat!" Those blue-and-purple wings began to glow with force, and Zubat twisted in midair to gain momentum before diving at its falling enemy and striking it.
With a squeal, Staryu fell, hitting the water a lot harder than it would have liked. Mary-Sue pumped a fist, but then Zubat started flapping around in a wild circle, all but flailing in the air.
"Batbatbatbatbatbatbatbatbat!" it shrieked, tossing and tumbling as though trying to throw something off itself - the root Mary-Sue had helped secure around its neck was dangerously close to becoming dislodged.
"Zubat, what's wrong?!" Mary-Sue exclaimed.
Whatever her partner was trying to tell her, she did not understand; it definitely seemed upset about something, but…
"Staryu, use Water Gun!" came the call of her opposing trainer.
"Staaaaaa-tata!" hissed the water-type as it poked its top - head? - out of the water, conjuring a jet stream from the tip and aiming it at Zubat.
"Zubat, watch out!" Mary-Sue screamed.
For a moment, it seemed like Zubat's wild tumbling would make it difficult for Staryu to hit it; but then, its careening path sent it straight in front of the attack, and the blast hit it in the face.
"Baaaaa-aaa-aat!" it wailed, floundering in the air as it tried desperately not to fall into the pool, flinging water everywhere as it barely righted itself and set immediately back to midair thrashing.
"Looks like your Zubat doesn't like getting wet," Misty remarked. "Dive, Staryu!"
"Doesn't like…?" All at once, Mary-Sue remembered the circumstances under which she'd caught the flying-type Pokémon: her Magikarp had splashed some water on it, and it had run away, then been mad enough to come back and attack it. "Oh! I'm sorry!" Mary-Sue called. "I'm sorry, I should have known you wouldn't want to fight in the water-type gym!"
The "Baaaaaaaaat!" she got in response sounded an awful lot like it was saying "Way to finally catch on, genius!"
"I'm sorry!" Mary-Sue repeated. "But we're already in this fight, and I don't wanna forfeit! Please just keep fighting, and I'll dry you off afterwards and never let you get wet again, I promise! Okay?!"
"Zuuuu…" it hissed, and even though it kept trying to shake itself dry, it steadied its position, turning back towards where Staryu had disappeared back underwater. "Zubat bat," it said, and that sounded like an agreement to Mary-Sue.
"You're hurt," she said; "fly in a wide circle, and when it comes out, use Leech Life on it!"
"Zuu zuu!" Zubat followed the directions, though clearly still distressed, flapping a lot harder than it needed to and shaking its head and tail-legs.
"Staryu, jump out and use Swift!" Misty commanded.
Her Pokémon emerged, a little behind where Zubat had just passed overhead, and trumpeted its odd cry as a bunch of stars made of light appeared around it and flew towards Zubat.
"Hang on!" Mary-Sue called. "You can't dodge this, so just fly into it, and use Leech Life while it's wide open, you'll feel better!"
As she'd said, the magical attack hit Zubat by homing in on it, and to its credit, Zubat dove through the blows with determination. Its teeth began to glow, and Mary-Sue gasped as the root it seemed so fond of shimmered as well.
"Baaaaaaaaat batbat!"
"Staaaaaa!" cried the water-type Pokémon as Zubat's fangs latched onto it, draining its life force.
"Wow!" Misty called, and Mary-Sue took her eyes off the Pokémon briefly to look and see the Gym Leader smiling at her. "Using a held item to boost Zubat's Leech Life is a pretty advanced strategy!"
"Uh…thanks?" Mary-Sue said dumbly. "It was…an accident? It just really seemed to like that root…"
Misty laughed once, then her expression hardened into a cold smile. "Too bad it won't help in the long run," she taunted. "Okay, Staryu, Dive quickly now, before it can get away!"
"Huh?!" Mary-Sue gasped, realizing too late that Zubat was clinging to the water-type Pokémon that was already falling straight for the pool's surface, still sucking the life from it. "Zubat, let go!" she yelped.
Too late; both Pokémon fell with a tremendous splash.
"Rapid Spin!" Misty shouted.
Underwater, Staryu began to spin too fast to see, a whirlpool forming in the water; Zubat was dislodged, only to be caught in the spinning current and tossed around helplessly. It cried, trying to escape its fluid prison, but when the attack ended and the water stilled, Zubat was floating helplessly, belly-up.
"Zubat is unable to battle!" the refereeing woman declared. "Staryu is the winner!"
"Zubat…" Mary-Sue felt her eyes sting as she called the defeated creature back to its Pokéball. "I'm sorry," she told it once it was safely inside, hoping it could hear her. "I'm sorry I didn't realize you don't like getting wet, and we definitely should have trained more at least. But you did great."
"You have one Pokémon left!" Misty reminded her. "Make it count!"
"Alright." Mary-Sue took a deep breath, then unclipped her second Pokéball and allowed herself a smile. "Time to get serious!" she shouted, and she threw the orb. "Go, Magikarp, it's your time to shine!"
"Magi-kaaaarp!" proclaimed the proud fish as it materialized in the water.
"This is a gym battle, Magikarp!" Mary-Sue told it, "and you're the last contender! Make this battle count!"
"Karp karp!" it agreed, doing a flip in the air.
"A Magikarp, huh?" Misty remarked, not quite able to hide her sneer. "Alright, time to end this. Staryu, use Swift!"
"Go underwater!" Mary-Sue called. "I know you can't use Dive, but just, stay underwater!"
"Karp." The orange fish obediently submerged. The star-shaped projectiles crashed against the surface, and Mary-Sue suspected Magikarp didn't entirely escape harm, but it looked like it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Tackle it!" Mary-Sue ordered.
She wasn't entirely sure her partner could hear her, but it obeyed all the same, using the same strength it put into flopping around on dry land to surge through the water and slam into Staryu. Even Misty gasped at the force of the blow, and when Magikarp slipped away, Staryu was the one floating belly-up.
"Staryu, get up!" Misty exclaimed.
"St-t-t-taaaa…" it shuddered.
"Staryu is unable to battle," the referee proclaimed. "The winner is Magikarp!"
"Well, that's not something you hear every day," Misty sighed as she called back her fallen companion. "You did great," she told the ball once it was occupied, "you deserve a rest." Then she looked up and told Mary-Sue, "I guess your Zubat did a lot of damage before it was defeated. But don't get cocky!"
"Same to you!" Mary-Sue called back, retaliating with a grin of her own. "Don't underestimate my Pokémon just because it's a Magikarp!"
"Karp karp karp!" agreed Magikarp, flicking its tail to send a spray of water into the air for emphasis.
"Alright," Misty chuckled, "but you know your odds aren't great. I call…Goldeen!" She threw a new Pokéball.
"Goldeen," hummed the orange-and-white creature that emerged into the pool.
"A Goldeen, huh?" Mary-Sue mused, thinking of that disastrous fishing day that had led to her partnership with Magikarp. "You know how to handle those, right, Magikarp?!" she called.
"Magikarp karp!" it nodded adamantly.
"Alright, then let's not waste time!" Mary-Sue smiled. "Go in for a Tackle!"
"Kaaaarp!" her partner trumpeted, whizzing forward.
"Counter with Horn Attack!" Misty directed.
"Try to Splash off it, if you can!" Mary-Sue ordered in response.
The two water-types collided, and Magikarp cried out in clear pain, but Goldeen seemed surprised by the force of its opponent's own attack, as well. Then, Magikarp launched into the air off the force of Goldeen's horn, nearly touching the ceiling.
"Tackle on the way down!" Mary-Sue told it. "Then, use Splash to get up on the pontoons, I have an idea!"
Magikarp twisted in the air, aiming for its opponent.
"Water Pulse, Goldeen!" Misty shouted.
"Look out!" Mary-Sue called. "Forget the Tackle, skip to the Splash!"
"Kaaaaarp," her partner intoned, determination clear in its manner. It flipped in the air, just barely evading the blast of glowing, resonating fluid, then hit the water and leapt out again, landing on one of the pontoons and flopping there.
"What kind of tactic is that?" Misty laughed.
"My Magikarp's used to using its own power to fight outside the water," Mary-Sue smirked. "Can your Goldeen say the same?"
"Huh?" Misty blinked.
Magikarp bounced back and forth. "Magikarp, magi magikarp, karp karp magi-karp," it babbled, almost in a singsong tone, as though it was mocking its opponent.
And Goldeen took the bait. "Deeeeen," it snarled, leaping after the other fish.
"Goldeen, wait!" Misty yelped.
"Tackle it!" Mary-Sue barked.
"Tail Whip!" Misty said desperately.
The hornless fish slammed into its enemy with tremendous force, only slightly mitigated by the massive tail frills slapping into it in return. Goldeen was knocked back into the water, flailing momentarily to right itself.
"Focus, Goldeen, don't let it get to you!" Misty barked. "It's just a Magikarp, it can't hit you from up there!"
"True," Mary-Sue conceded. "Magikarp can't do anything if it can't get in close. But you'll have to leave it an opening if you want to attack it from a distance!"
"Will we, now?" Misty taunted. "Goldeen, use Hydro Pump!"
"Goldeeeeeeeeen," the elegant fish trilled, its power gathering.
"Wait a minute," Mary-Sue told Magikarp, meeting one of its bulbous eyes. "Splash once it commits to dodge, then back in the water for a Tackle!"
Though her partner was still flopping, something in its gaze substituted for a nod. Trusting the fish completely, Mary-Sue nodded back.
Just as they planned, once Goldeen had fully committed to unleashing its powerful attack, Magikarp Splashed up, then dove into the water to charge into Goldeen from beneath. Its opponent didn't resist, and they both ended up airborne.
"Water Pulse!" Misty called.
"Hang on!" Mary-Sue yelped; they were so close, there would be no dodging this one. "Get back on the pontoon when you can!"
The blast of water crashed into the dark orange fish, and it went flying, falling hard into the pool. Mary-Sue's heart skipped a beat, but then it emerged from the surface, flopping its way back onto dry ground. Once it was up, though, it didn't bounce like usual, instead gasping, flouncing only weakly.
"Looks like Magikarp's almost down for the count," Misty remarked. "Alright, Goldeen, end this with Horn Attack!"
"Magikarp…" Mary-Sue's throat constricted, but something in her chest went white-hot; she would not give up, not if Magikarp wouldn't. "Muster all your power, and if you can, try to use Flail!" she begged. She didn't know for sure her Magikarp was able to use that move yet, but it was worth a try.
"Goooool," the orange-and-white fish intoned ominously, its horn glowing with force as it leapt from the water and aimed its fall straight at its weakened opponent. "Deeeeeen…!"
"Karp…karp…KAAAAARP!"
At the last second, Magikarp thrust itself into the air - not very far, just enough to evade the horn about to skewer it - then landed on Goldeen and began thrashing. Both trainers gasped as the supple, scaly body whacked Goldeen from all angles again and again, battering its opponent with the force of a cornered creature who refused to lose. With one final cry, Magikarp smacked its tail into Goldeen's face, knocking it back into the pool, then fell back into the water itself.
Time seemed to slow as Mary-Sue stared at the water's surface, waiting for either or both Pokémon to emerge. She couldn't breathe, her heart was pounding in her ears, as she waited, waited…
Two shadows began to materialize from under the water. The surface breached and fell away in two places: one revealed Magikarp, still clearly panting with exhaustion but very much conscious; and the other…
"Deeen…" whimpered the fish exposing its white belly to the ceiling.
"No way," Misty gasped.
"Goldeen is unable to battle," the referee declared. "The winner is Magikarp, and therefore, victory goes to the challenger, Mary-Sue Jones!"
Mary-Sue gasped, unable to take in enough air even when her lungs refused to expand further, her eyes so wide they were in danger of popping out of her head.
"Well, well," Misty chuckled, calling Goldeen back to its Pokéball. "I never thought I'd lose to a Magikarp. Well done, Mary-Sue." The grown woman smiled at the young redhead, and something broke.
"We did it!" Mary-Sue screamed, leaping almost as high as Magikarp, fists flung into the air. "We did it, Magikarp, we won!"
A single person's applause caught her attention, and she turned to see Aaron clapping from the poolside.
"Way to go, Masie!" he called with a smile.
Laughing giddily, Mary-Sue gave her friend a thumbs-up.
"Karp karp! Karp karp!" babbled her partner.
"You did great, Magikarp!" Mary-Sue told it, turning back to address the battered fish. "I knew you could do it! Magikarp or no, you're the best!"
"Kaaaarp!" Magikarp dove under the surface, then leapt into the air…and as it rose, it began to glow.
"Oh?" Mary-Sue gasped.
"Oh…" Misty breathed.
Enveloped in a blinding white light, the water-type Pokémon began to change its shape. It expanded, filling the air it left behind and the air above it, growing long and massive. Still glowing, it fell back into the water with a tremendous splash, enough to drench Mary-Sue, light filling the pool.
Then, the creature rose, and it was no longer a fish. Instead, a massive, frighting blue face emerged from the surface, rivulets falling away as it extended its way up and up, until it was half again as tall as Mary-Sue despite still being very much in the water.
"Magikarp," Mary-Sue breathed. "You…"
"Well, congratulations!" Misty called, and Mary-Sue turned to see the gym leader approaching on the back of her Lapras. "Your Magikarp evolved into Gyarados!"
"You…" A grin split Mary-Sue's face. "Alright!" she cheered. "Way to go, Gyarados! No one can pick on you for being weak now!"
"I don't think it ever was," Misty remarked as she lightly stepped onto the same platform as Mary-Sue. "It's just…grown a body to match its spirit. Kinda overdue if you ask me, based on its performance." She smiled.
"Yeah," Mary-Sue agreed, still grinning. "You're finally as big as you always were on the inside, Gyarados! I look forward to training your new abilities with you!"
"Gyara," rumbled the massive creature. It swiveled its head around abruptly, as though confused about where it was, and the wave that rippled out of its body from the movement sent the pontoon rocking hard.
"Whoa!" Mary-Sue yelped. "Careful there, Gyarados, you're big now!"
"Gyara?" It looked at her, massive eyes blinking. "Gyaaaar…"
"I guess adjusting to its new size is going to take practice," Misty remarked. "There's a really nice cape up north of here, a lot of trainers go there to get stronger; maybe it can get used to its body in the ocean?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Mary-Sue laughed breathlessly, still catching her balance. "I think you should go in your Pokéball until then, Gyarados. Return."
"Gyar," it began, but it was already dissolving into a cloud of red light.
For a moment, she stared at the Pokéball, amazed that the massive creature could still fit inside, and that the ball didn't even feel any heavier - the energy it hummed with had changed slightly, identifying its new form, but she could still carry it perfectly well.
"I hate to ruin the moment," the gym leader said, her voice light and teasing, and Mary-Sue looked up at her to see her beaming. "But you have another prize to claim. Shall we get back to the shore and get it?"
"Another prize…" Mary-Sue's eyes bugged out again, and she took Misty's extended hand and climbed onto Lapras's back in almost a daze.
When they got back to dry ground, the gym attendant was waiting with a small pillow, on which was perched a tiny blue object.
"Mary-Sue," Misty said formally, taking the pillow and proffering it to the young trainer, "for your victory, as leader of the Cerulean Gym, I'm happy to grant you the Cascade Badge!"
Mary-Sue's hand was trembling as she reached out and took the gleaming badge. It was shaped like a simple water droplet, about half the size of her thumb, with a simple safety pin on the back. It took effort to unfasten the clasp and stick the point through the strap of her backpack, careful not to poke all the way through to the padding of the double-layered band of fabric as she maneuvered it closed.
And then, there it was: an official Pokémon League badge, clipped to her backpack, ready to proclaim to the world that she had conquered the Cerulean City Gym.
"I…I did it," she whispered, feeling dizzy. Then, she leapt into the air again and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I WON A BADGE!"
"Congratulations, Masie," Aaron's voice said, breaking through her euphoria, though not quite ruining it. She turned and grinned at him as he walked over to her. "That was a great battle."
"You're a better trainer than Ash was at your age," Misty agreed, and Mary-Sue flinched at the name. "You have a long way to go, but you have a good grasp of the fundamentals, primarily of bonding with your Pokémon, and that'll take you far."
"I, uh…" Mary-Sue's face grew red-hot, and she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I need to thank my mom for that," she managed.
"Well, Aaron?" Misty asked, and both children blinked up at her. She gave an easygoing smile. "It's your turn. Are you ready?" The gym attendant was already approaching with the box for Staryu and Goldeen's Pokéballs, as well as a new one that presumably contained the team Misty would use against a trainer who already had two badges.
"I, uh…" Aaron's eyes flicked up to the adult woman once before returning straight to the floor, and he gulped. But then, he nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "I'm ready." He glanced at Mary-Sue. "Wish me luck, Masie," he said.
"Huh? I'm gonna stay and watch!" Mary-Sue protested.
"What?" he blinked. "Don't you need to get Zubat and Gyarados to the Pokémon Center?"
"I…" Mary-Sue frowned, eyeing Zubat's Pokéball on the backpack strap that didn't hold her shiny new badge. "It…it's unconscious," she said dumbly. "And…" She shook her head. "I don't want to miss your battle, Aaron," she said firmly; "I'm looking forward to seeing how you fight."
"Oh…" Aaron frowned slightly, a blush creeping into his lightly-tanned cheeks. "I mean…I guess I can wait a few minutes for you to heal your Pokémon, if you really want to watch…"
"Would you?" Mary-Sue exclaimed. "Thanks so much, Aaron, you're the best! I promise I'll be right back!"
"Alright," his voice followed her as she immediately sprinted for the front doors outside into Cerulean City, ready to show her new badge to the world.