"So basically...that Eevee of yours can just turn into all the Eeveelutions? At will?" Sorrel asked as they were walking through Mt. Moon.
Like Ash promised, he was finally explaining the whole thing with Vee. Since now Vee was comfortable doing it in front of them, Ash would be able to do it a lot more often.
"Yep, Vee can just do that," Ash explained, rubbing his head, "He can also do it alone, but if he does that, it hurts him, so I help him with that."
"Wait, no...how? Is it an Aura thing?" May asked.
"No, don't be ridiculous. Using Aura to change a form? What are you, three?" Ash laughed playfully.
May huffed, "Hey, I'm just throwing things at the wall. I don't know how your weird superpower works!"
"Sure, sure. In all seriousness, it's this thing." Ash held up his ring.
Sorrel looked at the ring, seeing it was a little different than the first time, "Wait, is that the ring you got from—" he was about to say Ho-Oh, but he stopped himself and looked at them, then at Ash, silently asking if they knew.
"Yep, it's a special ring," Ash said, not calling out Ho-Oh directly, and that was enough for Sorrel to understand, "I can use it to evolve Vee into the forms, and it doesn't hurt him when I do it like this."
"That's...okay, that's incredibly cool and also confusing," Max said, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, but that's how it works. At least for Vee here." Ash rubbed Vee's fur again, which he accepted greedily.
"I guess that makes sense why you never evolved him. I just assumed it was the same thing as with Pikachu, that he just doesn't really wanna," May tapped her chin.
"Well, yes but actually no, but that's a long story for later," Ash said as they finally got out of the cave and saw the sunlight again.
"Ah, finally, the sky! I missed it," Max said happily.
"We were in there for like 30 minutes," Brock said with a smirk down at Max, making him look away and whistle.
"Well," Ash started as he looked at Sorrel, "guess this means it's goodbye again."
"Looks like it, but it was fun to travel with you again, Ash," Sorrel said, putting his hand out to shake Ash's, "I'm probably going to head back home for a while and get my official Professor License."
Ash smirked, "Good luck. I know you can do it. And if you ever need some officers to proofread your essays, I may have some sway~"
Sorrel smiled, "I'll keep that in mind. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, good job winning the Indigo League when you did. I watched it. It was probably the best fight I've seen."
"Aww, you're just saying that because it's true~" Ash said very humbly, then looked back at him, "Well, till next time."
"Yeah, maybe next time we can get Verity with us and go on another adventure," Sorrel chuckled.
"Oh, and before you go, I see your Lucario has been slacking on his training. Unacceptable. Here, I wrote this especially for you. Be sure to make him do this every day, no exceptions~" Ash said with an innocent smile as he handed Sorrel a folded piece of paper.
As Sorrel took it, Lucario inside Sorrel's Poké Ball might not have been able to see outside, but it was shivering for some reason.
"Will do. See ya later, Ash." Sorrel gave one final nod as he turned and went off toward Pewter City, and Ash went back to his friends.
"So we're alone again. What's the plan?" Ash asked, putting his arms over his head.
"Well, did Flannery open the Gym yet?" May asked.
Ash pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, and after a few moments he got his answer, "No, actually the Gym Leader meeting is happening today, so I won't even be able to call her for the rest of the day once that starts."
"Okay, so going back to Lavaridge is out," Brock said as he sat on a nearby rock.
"Aw, then that means Ash can't get his badge," Max said, going over and sitting next to Brock on the rock.
"Hey, it's fine, really." Ash waved his hand dismissively as he pulled out his phone to scroll through to see if anything new was happening in Kanto, "Well, we can either go back to Hoenn, but you know how Abby is, I don't know where she is, or we could do something here in Kanto."
May leaned over Ash's shoulder to peek at his phone, "You say that like 'do something in Kanto' isn't insanely vague."
"It's called keeping our options open," Ash said defensively, tilting the screen away from her, "Strategic."
Brock leaned over Ash's other shoulder, "You're literally scrolling through PokéNews, my guy."
Pikachu snickered from Ash's shoulder. Vee chirped in agreement.
"Well, we could always go to Cerulean and go annoy Misty~" Ash said with a grin.
May immediately lit up, "Ohhh, yes. I want to meet this legendary Misty properly."
"She's not legendary," Brock said automatically.
"She is in the stories you two tell," Max cut in, "Especially with how much you said she hits Brock."
Ash gasped dramatically, "First of all, she is terrifying. Second of all, she got better. She only hit Brock one time a month after we helped her with her thing."
"Oh yeah, good times," Brock said as he grinned, "Besides, Ash, you need to restart your no-hit run, remember?"
"Hey, that did not count. I let her hit me in the shoulder. That wasn't a real hit."
"I dunno, you didn't specify. You just said it was a no-hit run~" Brock teased.
"I mean...sounds like you did lose it," May joined in.
"You traitor," Ash squinted at her, "After all I've done."
"Not her fault she's right."
"Brock, I will throw you into this mountain, I swear," Ash muttered as he turned and started walking.
They quickly started following, and May walked up next to Ash, "Sooooo what's the real reason? You just want to bug her, or are you actually worried?"
Ash stopped pretending to be offended for a second, "I mean…" Ash shrugged, suddenly finding the sky very interesting, "Running a Gym isn't easy. Especially in a place like Cerulean City. She told us she wanted to make it...well, you know, not a joke. And her sisters aren't exactly the most...structured."
"That's the nicest thing you've ever said about them," Brock said.
"Not the time, lover boy. Anyway, let's just say when she couldn't go on adventures with us anymore, the waterworks weren't really that pretty. I mean, I've talked to her over the phone, obviously, and well…" Ash tilted his head a few times, not really knowing how to explain it, "Look, I can check up on someone and also annoy them. Those are not mutually exclusive."
"Surrreeeeee," Max and May said in unison.
Brock patted Ash's shoulder, "It's okay, I miss her too. Nothing wrong with that."
"Shut up, Brock," Ash said with a small chuckle as he elbowed Brock's side.
"Okay. Oh, and I hear that Cerulean City just made a Contest Hall. Can we go there too?" May asked.
"Not how it works. Even if you win, you'll get a Kanto Ribbon. It won't count toward your Hoenn Ribbons," Max reminded her.
"I knew that," (she did not), "I just wanted to go watch. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Sure, sure, we've got time," Ash said with a chuckle, "Just try not to pout all the way there~"
May opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again before looking away with a huff.
Ash smirked, and just as he was about to tease her again, they heard a small ringing of a bell. When they looked toward the source, they saw a man rolling a cart filled with eggs. As he noticed them, he waved.
"Hey, kids," he said, rolling the cart up to them, "The name's Christopher, and I run a daycare. I'm traveling to sell these." He gestured dramatically at the cart full of colorful Eggs.
May's eyes instantly sparkled.
"Eggs?" she repeated, already stepping forward, "Like, actual Pokémon Eggs? For real?"
Christopher puffed up proudly, "Fresh from my daycare. All healthy, all properly cared for. Different parents, different possibilities. We're running a special, choose any Egg at random. They all cost the same, but you won't know what you get!"
May was already crouched by the cart, hands hovering over the colorful shells like they were rare jewels, "Oh my gosh, look at this one! And this one! Ash, look at the pattern on this one—"
"I'm looking," Ash said, amused. He was literally still holding the blue Egg he had just gotten, and May was acting like she'd never seen a Pokémon Egg before, "You look like someone just handed you a box of rare Pokéblocks."
May shot Ash a look, "This is way more important than Pokéblocks."
"Debatable," Ash replied lightly, adjusting the blue Egg in his arms.
May had already tuned them out. She leaned closer to the cart, eyes scanning over the Eggs, some speckled, some striped, some with soft gradients of color. She carefully turned one slightly to examine the pattern.
"They're all so different…" she murmured, "What if I pick one and it's not right? What if I miss the perfect one?"
"That's not how Eggs work," Max tried to cut in.
"Don't ruin the moment," May hissed without looking at him.
Christopher chuckled, "Take your time. Though remember, it is supposed to be random."
"That's the worst part!" May groaned, sitting back on her heels, "I don't do well with random."
Ash raised an eyebrow, "You entered Contests. That's basically competitive randomness."
"That's strategy!" she shot back.
Pikachu tilted his head curiously at the cart. Vee, meanwhile, hopped down from Ash's arms and padded toward the Eggs.
"Vee?" Ash blinked.
The small Eevee sniffed one Egg...then another...then another, circling the cart slowly like he was conducting a very serious investigation.
May immediately leaned closer, "Oh. Oh. He's choosing."
"But isn't it supposed to be—" Max started.
"Shh," Brock interrupted, oddly invested now.
Vee paused in front of a brown Egg with a stripe. He sniffed it again, tilted his head, then gently tapped it with his paw and looked up at May expectantly, "Vee vee!"
"Okay, that one? Okay, deal!" May said excitedly. She paid for the Egg, which again wasn't a problem since she wasn't spending the money she got from her dad or Birch on housing or food, Ash took care of that. She had plenty, even if Eggs in general were expensive.
But even if she didn't, Ash would have probably bought it for her. Would it have been after a lot of teasing? Yeah. But he still would have done it.
Christopher nodded, put the Egg in an incubator for her, and handed it over before saying he was off to Pewter to sell more Eggs. Then he walked off into the distance.
May hugged the Egg and smiled, "Now I have an Egg."
"Yep, welcome to parenthood. And don't worry, you'll probably only not sleep for three nights after it's born," Ash said, since he had hatched a lot of Eggs.
"You're joking…" May looked at Ash slowly.
"No...he's really not," Brock nodded, since he had also hatched Eggs.
"Well, that's probably because you guys are bad at raising babies. I'm much more motherly than you two," May said proudly as she looked away from them.
"Okay, can I get that in writing?" Ash teased.
"No," May immediately said, knowing whenever Ash said that, it meant it was going to come back to bite her, "Can we keep moving?"
"Finnneeee, but only because I want to annoy Misty as soon as we can," Ash said as he turned on his heel and started walking, "Let's go!"
—
{In Fortree City}
Flannery called the emergency Gym Leader meeting, trying to gather all nine main Gym Leaders in Hoenn, or at least she tried. They all agreed to meet at the Fortree Gym since it was in the middle of Hoenn and the most convenient for everyone to reach, and she would explain everything there.
Winona was already there since it was her Gym, obviously. Soon enough, she saw everyone arriving, Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, Norman, and Juan.
Wattson was the first to greet everyone, "Hiya, everybody! Long time no Seedot! Hahaha!" he laughed at his own joke.
Roxanne, meanwhile, landed and quickly counted everyone, "Where are the others? There are only seven out of the nine Gym Leaders here, that's two absent. You said this is a Level 7 emergency. Do you know what the meaning of this is, Flannery? According to Article 118 of the Pokémon Association rules, all Gym Leaders must be present."
Flannery scratched the back of her head, "Well...I couldn't get in contact with Tate and Liza. Apparently, they've been missing from their Gym for a few days."
Before Roxanne could scold Flannery again, Juan cut in, "This is fine. Now, if you don't mind, could you please explain to us why you called us?"
Flannery nodded and stood, "Yes...I called this meeting to tell you all that there's some kind of organization endangering the entire Hoenn region."
She gestured to her bandaged bruises, "Not long ago, I was attacked by this organization, and they tried to destroy Mt. Chimney!" Flannery explained, not mentioning Ash's part since he had asked her not to bring him up to anyone, so she kept that hidden.
She looked back up at everyone's shocked faces, "If they can do this, there's no telling what more they can do. So if we're going to stop them, we're going to have to work together!"
"An organization…" Winona started, "Were they wearing red uniforms? A while ago, some people in red uniforms came to my town and raided an old—"
"No, they were wearing blue uniforms. Actually, a girl in a red uniform helped me," Flannery said quickly.
Roxanne blinked in shock and nearly stood up, "What do you mean?"
"The organization in blue is called Team Aqua, and they talked about 'increasing the sea.' And the girl who helped me was wearing red, she was a member of Team Magma," Flannery crossed her arms and retold it as she understood it.
She opened her eyes firmly and said resolutely, "It seems to me that Team Aqua is the evil organization, and Team Magma is a friendly organization that will help us."
This time, Brawly spoke up, tapping his finger against his jaw, "Uh-uh! It's got to be the other way around."
Brawly smacked his fist into his palm and grinned, "Increasing the amount of sea is a good thing! We could surf everywhere!" Then he looked over at Juan, "Hey, Juan, you're a Water-type expert too. You agree, don't you?"
Juan tugged slightly on his mustache, "Well...I suppose so."
But then Wattson, remembering the problems he had faced years ago from a situation like this, couldn't hold himself back. He stood up and slammed his hands onto the table, "What are you talking about?! Land is far more important than water! You have no idea what hardships Mauville City has gone through because of lack of space!"
Roxanne jumped at the slam, then quickly retorted, "Hey, don't be so childish!"
She calmed herself and tapped her chin with a pen, "Flannery, there is something I want to clear up. Did you see someone called Professor Cozmo with Team Aqua?"
Flannery blinked, then thought back, "Uh...glasses, big nose, into rocks, right? Well, now that you mention it, yeah, he was there, but—" she was cut off.
"I knew it! We're friends. He's discussed his research with me at length, and he told me the name of the organization sponsoring his research is called Team Aqua," Roxanne said.
She puffed out her chest and raised a finger proudly, "Obviously Professor Cozmo would never work with an evil organization. In fact, I remember someone saying they were from Team Magma and broke into Devon Corporation to attempt theft. So they must be the bad guys. I am in favor of the blue group."
But Winona started thinking carefully, "But...I find it hard to believe that we can't trust Flannery's observations…" she said, making Roxanne huff.
Winona clarified, "I'd like to believe what Flannery saw with her own eyes," she said, standing beside her.
Now that Wattson had a few seconds to calm down, he rubbed his cheek and looked around the room, "Sooo...what now? Our opinions are divided right down the middle," he said.
Then Wattson realized Norman was here, he just hadn't said anything yet. He was sitting with his arms crossed, looking serious.
Wattson turned to him, "Norman, you're the only one who hasn't contributed to this discussion yet. Since Tate and Liza aren't here, yours is the decisive vote!"
Norman: "..."
"Where do you stand on this matter, Norman?!"
Norman stood up from his chair and, without opening his eyes, turned away, "I won't side with either organization," he said, starting to walk toward the elevator, "Excuse me…"
"Hey! Come back here!" Winona suddenly stood up and marched after Norman, grabbing him by the shoulder, "This is an official meeting of the Pokémon Association! In other words, you have a responsibility here!"
"Does that mean you're abandoning our meeting?!" Winona asked accusingly.
"..." Norman stayed silent for a moment before raising his hand and pushing Winona's hand off his shoulder, "I'm not abandoning anything. I've given you my opinion. I won't take either side, that's where I stand," he said as he started walking again.
"That's not an acceptable answer!" Winona tried one more time, "We're Gym Leaders chosen by the Pokémon Association to represent our towns and cities. It's our obligation to keep the peace when anything happens to disturb it!"
"And that includes you, right?!"
That made Norman stop, not because of what she said, but because she mentioned the Pokémon Association again. He slowly turned back and looked at her, narrowing his eyes, "The Pokémon...Association, huh…" he said before walking out the door.
"What kind of attitude is that?!" Roxanne said, slamming her hands onto the desk.
"He's been here the whole meeting and he doesn't have an opinion," Brawly said, crossing his arms.
They didn't understand why he was like this. I mean, sure, none of them really liked the Pokémon Association either, but that wasn't a reason to neglect his duty. They all had to suck it up and do their jobs.
"We cannot properly conduct this meeting without him," Juan added.
"But this is a meeting for all Gym Leaders, so normally you'd have to include Norman, hahaha," Wattson tried to joke to lighten the mood, "Just punning you, haha!"
That didn't land well, especially with Roxanne and Brawly already annoyed at Norman's behavior. They gave Wattson a stink eye.
Wattson coughed and turned toward the exit, "Uh, I'll try to talk to him," he said, quickly running out to catch up with Norman.
That left the rest in the room to keep talking. This meeting would last at least a few hours.
"What should we do now, Winona?" Flannery asked.
"Well, there aren't enough of us…" Winona tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Oh, I've got it!" Flannery said excitedly, "What if we get some elite trainers to help us? I have someone in mind!" she added, thinking about Ash.
"Yeah, you know, I have a bro who could help a lot. He's super strong and yoked too," Brawly said, putting his hands behind his head, also referring to Ash.
"Out of the question!" Roxanne raised her hand, "They'll just get in our way," she said decisively, not realizing they were talking about Ash. If she did...well, this would be a very different conversation.
Flannery huffed in annoyance at Roxanne.
Winona pulled out her phone, "Well, we should see if we can reach Tate and Liza. Their opinions could help. For now, I'll contact the Association."
Meanwhile, outside, Norman grabbed his helmet and got on his motorcycle. Just then, Wattson jumped down and called out to him.
"Norman!"
Norman stopped and looked up at Wattson, "..."
"Figured. Although you've been hiding so much for so long, don't you think it's about time you show your strength? After all, you're the strongest Gym Leader in Hoenn," Wattson asked with a smile. After all, Wattson was the oldest Gym Leader, and he was also the only one who knew that Norman was a Champion-ranked trainer.
Norman didn't answer. He looked away from him, "..."
"I apologize for everyone's lack of manners, but you must understand they don't know about...your past, and your troubles with the Pokémon Association, and what happened all those years ago…" Wattson said. He knew, of course he did. He was there and part of it.
Norman raised his hand, gesturing for him to stop. He didn't want to hear it. He simply put on his helmet, turned on his bike, and drove away, leaving Wattson alone as he sighed.
He would have to go back up there. There was a lot more to talk about, like what they thought the teams were doing and what their goals were. It was all getting complicated, and he already had his hands full with the reconstruction of Mauville Holdings.
This was going to take all day.
—-
{In Cerulean City}
It's been a wild first few months for Misty. Since she took over the Gym, she hasn't given out a single Badge.
With her Gym's old reputation, everyone who came to challenge her thought it was going to be an easy win. She corrected them quickly, but it still frustrated her. However, she calmed herself down. She had spent all that time with Ash, Brock, and Yellow learning to control her temper, so she wasn't going to go back to how she used to be.
Still, because of the situation she was in, the newbie trainers who came thinking this was an easy Gym got completely destroyed, and the strong trainers either already had the Badge from last year or didn't even consider Cerulean worth visiting. So right now, she was pretty free.
In her free time, she went over to help take care of all the Lapras. But something weird had been going on. She didn't understand it at first, but it was probably not important. Sometimes it felt like she could understand the Lapras better, and it also seemed like Water-types in general liked her more.
But again, that was probably not important, especially since it started happening after the Gym Leader Tournament.
Other than that, she had been working on the breeding facilities to properly start giving out Starter Pokémon to new trainers in Cerulean who didn't have a Professor, since that was a responsibility Gym Leaders had to handle. She had even started recruiting some Gym Trainers.
It was strange having people rely on her so much. She had so many responsibilities, and her sisters...they weren't the best, but bless their hearts, they were trying to improve. They even, in between training for their shows, helped take care of the front desk and assisted with paperwork...sometimes.
Speaking of those shows, yeah, she was getting dragged to those now. Since her sisters promised they would make sure everyone saw she was also pretty, they put her in a mermaid costume and had her join in. That led to her getting her own fan mail and love letters, especially after she started letting her hair grow out, which was really strange for her. She never expected that in a million years.
But yeah, she was doing her best, and she thought she was doing good. Still, sometimes she'd like to have her friends here to show them that she was really doing it. She missed them, going on goofy adventures and everything.
But she'd rather die than call Ash and ask him to visit her because she was lonely, so the occasional call she got was enough for now. And as for Yellow...well, she had no idea where she went.
Today was a simple day. No one was coming to challenge her because the nearby trainers were either too weak and left or were still training. And the stronger trainers hadn't gotten the news yet that Cerulean Gym wasn't a joke anymore. So she was handling her duties.
She slowly prepared all the Pokémon food and went around feeding everyone in the Gym. She also had to check in with Ash's Blastoise, since he had left him with her. He'd gone off on some side quest, but he was supposed to be back today. She'd have to deal with that too.
"Okay, okay, I hear you," she muttered as one of the Lapras let out a soft, echoing call.
The Lapras nudged closer to the edge, big eyes fixed on her expectantly. Misty sighed, but she was smiling.
"You just ate. Don't try to guilt-trip me."
The Lapras gave a cheerful cry, and for a second Misty swore she heard it say, "[Please]."
Misty froze and looked at it, "What? Did you say something?"
The Lapras blinked slowly.
"…You're lucky you're adorable."
She scooped out another portion of food and tossed it gently into the water. Immediately the other Water-types stirred, Seel popping up with a splash, Goldeen weaving between the ripples. It was busy, but not overwhelming.
From across the pool, her sisters' voices echoed faintly from the lobby, probably arguing over which ribbon color matched the new banner they'd ordered.
Misty shook her head fondly.
"Paperwork later," she reminded herself, "Feed Pokémon first. Then check on the breeding tanks. Then inventory. Then—"
The front doors of the Gym burst open with a loud bang, "YO, CERULEAN! YOUR FAVORITE TRAINER HAS ARRIVED, "
Misty froze. She recognized that voice. Slowly, she turned toward the door.
Standing in the doorway was Ash, grinning like an idiot, hands on his hips. Pikachu perched proudly on his shoulder. Vee was tucked under his arm. Behind him stood Brock. She hadn't noticed May and Max yet.
For half a second, Misty just stared.
Her brain didn't catch up fast enough.
Ash tilted his head, "Uh...wow, tough crowd. I expected at least one dramatic gasp."
Then she moved before she could think about it.
The bucket clanged loudly against the tile as it slipped from her hands and hit the floor.
"Misty—?" Brock started.
She ran.
Ash barely had time to widen his eyes before Misty crashed into him, and Brock too, wrapping both of them in a tight hug with enough force to nearly knock them backward.
"Oof—!" Ash stumbled, laughing, "Okay! Okay!"
Brock steadied them with one arm around her shoulders, "Easy there."
Misty buried her face against them, fists clutching Ash's jacket, "…You idiots," she muttered, "You could have called…"
Ash snorted and shifted slightly so he could hug her back properly, patting her head, "Missed you too, Water Queen."
---
Omake story - Misty's first day
(8 AM)
It was a sunny morning in Cerulean City. The crisp breeze swept through the bustling streets, carrying the distant sounds of children laughing and the occasional splash from the nearby beach. Misty stood at the entrance of the Cerulean City Gym, staring up at the large, familiar building.
Misty took a breath. This was it, this is what she'd always wanted… right? She was officially the Gym Leader now; she could do anything. Her sisters were preparing for their show, and now that Misty had taken control of the Gym, they were more than happy to focus on that.
Though Misty was glad that Daisy had at least offered to take care of the expenses and things like that, Misty had no idea how that worked. Her sisters might have been unreliable when it came to Gym duties, but at least she knew they wouldn't do something stupid like try to steal money from the Gym to go on vacation.
So, all she needed to do for now was take on challengers, be the face of Cerulean City, care for the Water-type Pokémon, and handle any problems in Cerulean City.
Misty shook her head and finally walked in, where she saw Daisy at the reception desk reading a magazine. Daisy looked up, smiled, and waved. Misty waved back.
Daisy walked up and hugged Misty, "Congratulations, Misty! You're finally a Gym Leader. How does it feel?"
"I-um," Misty started, rubbing her arm, "Fine. I-I'm excited to get started," she said with a slightly forced smile. She was happy, but her feelings were complicated.
Daisy noticed, "Hey, Misty, what's up? Something bothering you?"
"I... no, no. It's just, well," Misty looked around at the Gym, "Do you ever feel like you've wanted something for so long, but when you finally get it, you don't know how to feel?"
Daisy frowned and looked at Misty with a sad smile, "Ah, I see."
"I get it," Daisy said, "You're a Gym Leader now, but it feels like something's missing. It's not about the Gym. You miss your friends, right?" she asked.
"I guess so," Misty admitted softly, "I miss them. I miss the journey, the excitement of traveling with Ash, Brock, and Yellow. It... it felt like every day was something new, and… I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. If I'd never met them, I'd probably still be here, the same girl with anger issues and nowhere near as strong as I am now. I kinda wish they were here with me."
Daisy's smile softened, and she placed a hand on Misty's shoulder, "I get it. I do. I know it's not easy, especially when you've spent so much time with them. But it's okay to feel this way. Besides, do you think they'd want you sulking around instead of kicking the butts of all the trainers that come here?"
That got a little laugh out of Misty, "Yeah, I guess you're right. If they saw me now, Ash would probably call me an idiot or something like that, and Brock would teach me some tricks, and Yellow… would just be Yellow."
"Yep, that's right. We're not alone. You've got us. We promised, and we're here for you 100%," Daisy winked.
Misty smiled slightly, "Since when did you get good at being a big sister?"
Daisy laughed softly, crossing her arms, "Hey, I've always been the mature one! It's just taken me some time to show it." She winked playfully, then turned more serious, "But really, Misty, we'll always be here for you. The Gym may be your responsibility now, but you're not alone in this. And if you ever need someone to talk to, or just a break, you've got us."
Misty smiled as she looked around at the Gym, all the Pokémon, and everything that was coming. She took a breath to steady herself.
-
{11 AM}
Misty was feeding and taking care of the Water-type Pokémon along with the Gym trainers, but one task that she had to handle herself was the Lapras.
The Lapras had been transferred to Cerulean after Pryce entrusted them to Lorelei and her. Lorelei went to retrieve all the Lapras to bring them here personally, and with her word, an expansion project for the Gym was initiated to create a habitat for the Lapras.
Misty was personally overseeing the project, answering any questions the League workers, who were sent to build, had. Then there was the challenge of taking care of the Lapras. Most of these Lapras had been abused and rescued, so they didn't like humans, which made it difficult.
Thankfully, she had her own Lapras, and more importantly, Ash let her use his Lapras for this. With Ash's Lapras' help, she was at least able to calm the Lapras down enough to feed them and brush their shells.
-
{1 PM}
Misty finally finished feeding all the Pokémon in the Gym. She walked out with a towel over her shoulder. She was wearing a two-piece blue swimsuit similar to the one she had in FireRed and LeafGreen, but with sandals and her white jacket zipped up halfway. She had her hands in her pockets.
As Misty made her way toward the front of the Gym, she walked up to the front desk to get some work done since Gym Leaders still had to handle paperwork, which was annoying. It was more for the town itself, since Gym Leaders kind of function like mayors for their towns.
But as she stepped out, she saw a group of trainers sitting and waiting for their chance to battle, maybe a little too many, and some of them were grinning a little too hard.
Misty felt a bit annoyed by their cocky looks, but she couldn't blame them. Because of her sisters, the Gym had earned the reputation of being a badge dispenser. Even on online forums, everyone said how easy and pathetic the Gym was.
Misty took a deep breath and steadied herself, getting into position, "Hello there, are you all here to take on the Gym?"
One of the trainers, a young man with a cocky smirk, stepped forward, "Oh, we're prepared. We've heard about how easy this Gym is. Shouldn't be too hard to grab that badge from you, right?"
Misty's eyes narrowed slightly, the remnants of her unease from earlier replaced with focused determination, "You think this will be easy?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "Well, let's see, how many badges do each of you have?" As much as she would like to have her Gyarados beat them all in one move, League rules came first.
But what they said next made her want to return to her old ways, get angry, and yell, because most of them had no badges, and only one of them had one badge, which made her want to choke something.
She took a deep breath, said nothing, and got ready.
About one hour later, all of the would-be challengers were sent flying out of the Gym. They were beaten easily. Misty, for a moment, thought she used the wrong team, but no, they were the zero- and one-badge teams. Compared to everything she'd been through when she was with Ash, this was nothing.
The challengers left silently, thinking that the forms were actually filled with people who were salty that they lost and wanted to trick other new trainers like they were. They were also destroyed by the Gym to tarnish its reputation. They left muttering to themselves, vowing to go straight to the forums to set the record straight
-
{8 PM}
After she took care of all the challenges, Misty finally closed the Gym for the day. She got something to eat, and once she did, she went over to the couch in the living room and fell down onto it, tired.
Her thoughts drifted back to Ash, Brock, and Yellow. What were they doing now? Were they thinking of her?
A soft thud behind her broke her train of thought. Misty turned to find Daisy standing there, hands on her hips, giving her a knowing look.
"Hey, you've been out here for a while," Daisy said, her voice light but concerned, "Everything okay?"
Misty didn't answer immediately. She just shrugged, "I guess, kinda tired though."
Daisy chuckled, "Well, now you know why most of the time we just gave out badges. But great first day, you didn't lose a single battle."
"That's only because they underestimated me because of you three," Misty said back.
"Harsh, but true," Daisy shrugged, "But you did great anyway." She gave Misty a hug from behind and then quickly fled.
Misty was too tired to reprimand her, but thankfully, Psyduck waddled over, saw her, and then waddled back to grab a bottle of water and hand it to her. Misty saw him and gave him a slow head pat, accepting the water.
{9:30 PM}
The soft hum of the aquarium filters filled the Cerulean Gym as the last lights dimmed to a calm blue glow. Misty sat on the couch, a cup of tea resting on the table in front of her. Daisy had already gone to her room, leaving Misty alone with the soft gurgle of the tanks and the distant splash of a Seaking diving through the water.
Her first day as the official Gym Leader of Cerulean City was finally over.
She leaned back, sighing. Her body ached from the battles, the feeding, the paperwork, but more than that, from the weight of everything that came with her title. Still, a small, proud smile tugged at her lips.
She'd done it. No easy badges, no shortcuts, no mistakes.
For once, the Gym wasn't seen as a joke.
She stood up and stretched before walking to her room. The soft carpet muffled her steps, and the night air drifted in through the open window as she slipped off her jacket and set it neatly on her chair. Her swimsuit was replaced with a pair of comfortable shorts and a loose blue tank top.
Misty brushed her hair, letting it fall down instead of tying it into her usual side ponytail. She looked into the mirror for a long moment, but then shook her head and walked past it.
When she finally sat on her bed, she reached for her phone, its screen lighting the dim room in a faint, blue glow. She opened her gallery, just to scroll for a minute before bed, and there they were. Pictures. Dozens of them.
Her and Ash, after a battle, laughing.
Brock smiles awkwardly while trying to flirt with Nurse Joy.
Yellow holding Chuchu with a shy grin.
Group photos with sunsets and Pokémon battles behind them.
She smiled softly, her chest tightening as she swiped through them. One picture stopped her.
It was the four of them, Ash with his hand behind his head, laughing; Brock squinting at the camera; Yellow giving a peace sign; and her, standing next to Ash, mid-laugh, a bit of water dripping from her hair.
Misty exhaled, her smile faltering slightly. Her thumb brushed over the screen, and a drop fell onto the picture. She was crying, and she didn't even realize it.
"I was never close to anyone before I met you guys," she whispered quietly, her voice trembling with memory, "Boundaries didn't apply to us…to all of us, and that shook me to my core."
She paused, her eyes softening as she looked at Ash's face on the screen.
"But you know… because of you, I felt a whirlwind of emotions I didn't know I could feel. I don't think I ever realized how nerve-racking it was to simply be yourself around other people. And yet… I feel like you did. You made me realize something."
She smiled faintly as she wiped her eyes, "And I found myself thinking, what can I do for you, to help you as much as you helped me? The day I met you… is the day my life changed."
The silence lingered for a moment, filled only by the gentle sound of the aquarium filter and the soft chirping outside. Misty wiped her eyes and set her phone on the nightstand, right next to the glass sculpture of Lorelei, Lapras, and Psyduck that Ash got her for her birthday.
Her gaze drifted up to the ceiling as she fell back on her pillow, her mind still filled with images of their adventures, the forests, the laughter, and the endless road ahead. A small smile returned to her lips.
"Goodnight, Ash… goodnight, everyone," she whispered softly, closing her eyes, "Wherever you are… I hope you're smiling too."
Misty closed her eyes and smiled as she fell asleep. Maybe things aren't as bad as she thought. She might be lonely, but she knows they're probably thinking about her too, and that makes her feel a little less lonely.