Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another chapter of "A Long Distance Ship". I hope you all had a great week wherever you are in the world, and you are excited for another chapter of the story. Last time, Misty learned of a Pokemon contest from Ash as well as May, who made her debut in the chat on Monday! Anyways, it is now time for Ash to head to Lavaridge Town and earn his next badge! How will it go? Well, let's find out! We got a lot to cover (AG052-55 to be percise)!

ashketchum497
To: misskwaterflower049
Subject: Arrival in Lavaridge Town

Hey, Misty. May, Max, Brock, and I have finally arrived in Lavaridge Town for my 4th gym battle. A lot happened between tonight and May's Pokémon Contest. We ended up reuniting with Thatcher, the kid from Misty Village who thought that I was a hero. He and his Plusle and Minun ended up becoming a part of a cheering school, which turned out to be a huge scam, as the teacher's methods of cheering clearly give trainers an unfair advantage during fights! A few days later, we arrived at a Numel ranch where May ended up helping her Skitty learn a new move in Assist, which was very helpful for when the TRio decided to show up and try and steal the Numel. The day after, we arrived at Mt. Chimney and its cable car, the only way for us to reach Lavaridge Town. It was at Mt. Chimney where we had another encounter with Team Magma. I ended up having to deal with them myself after I climbed up the cable in order to get help after our cable car got stranded and SOMEONE trapped with us destroyed the phone in order to call for help. They were after some sort of meteorite that would help them get Groudon, I guess. (They are still very vague about their goals.) But I ended up thwarting their plans and didn't get any of my questions about them answered before we arrived in Lavaridge Town. I ended up meeting the gym leader Flannery today, but we didn't end up having the battle because she was VERY underprepared for the role of a gym leader, to the point where her grandfather, the former gym leader who was supposed to be away for a year, came back after only three days to try and help her out. By the time it was all sorted out, it was a little late for a battle, but at least we got some of the sand baths that Lavaridge Town is known for. They are super relaxing. Anyways, I better get some rest for my gym battle tomorrow. I will send you the highlights then!

Ash

misskwaterflower049
To: ashketchum497
Subject: Arrival in Lavaridge Town

Hey Ash. I am glad to hear that you made it to Lavaridge Town safely despite your encounter with an evil team. Also Ash, I know you always want to play hero, but what you did at Mt. Chimney was really stupid and dangerous. You had Taillow and May had Beautifly (and if the SOMEONE you mention was a part of Team Rocket, Jessie had a Dustox), so why couldn't you have just sent one of those Pokémon out to fly for help? It isn't like you haven't used them to help reach those far from you before, especially in this region *cough cough Dewford Island*. But at least you were able to thwart Team Magma. As for Flannery, I am glad that she got some help getting the gym ready for challengers. I wish I had some help getting MY gym ready. But of course, my sisters only seemed to hinder me getting started rather than help out. Anyways, I hope your gym battle goes well tomorrow! I will be excited to see the highlights!

Misty

And that is it for this chapter of A Long Distance Ship. I would like to thank the user Lia Silverclaw for leaving a review. Yes, she had a Togepi in the canon, but in AG045, it ended up evolving into a Togetic, one of the best choices in the anime's history... which was followed up immediatly by one of the worst as Misty decided to release it! I am not going to spoil anything, but I have a different plan for what I want to do with her. Anyways, remember to favorite, follow, and/or review this story. It shows me that you all are reading the story, especially since the damn view counter is still broken! Have a good weekend, everyone.