Misty stared at the pokeball that she had in her hands. She'd been stuck looking at it for the last few days or so. She still couldn't believe that she, Misty from Cerulean, had gotten herself a Squirtle!
"Misty! Come on! Let's have them fight; I want to see who's stronger!" said Ash plaintively."Ash! Calm down! Misty still has to get used to her pokemon!" barked Forrest, glancing at Misty worriedly. Misty wasn't sure if she should be pleased he was standing up for her, or annoyed that he thought she couldn't stand up for herself."Yeah, which is why we should make them fight!" Ash said.Misty pursed her lips. That… was somewhat logical. The sad part was that she knew without a doubt that her Squirtle would lose… Ash's Squirtle had been the leader of the troupe that they'd encountered. And that hadn't been due to chance. Ash's Squirtle was larger and had a harder shell. Also, he had the stronger Water Gun. Something that she knew played a huge part in a bale of turtle pokemon.Her Squirtle on the other hand… was probably the runt. She couldn't believe she'd ignored the chance to get herself one of the most known water types around! She gave Forrest a smile. He'd been the one to point out that a squirtle would be a great addition to her team after all."Thanks, Forrest, I can stand up for myself," she said gently.He nodded and glanced away, a slight blush on his cheeks. She giggled. He was a bit too easy to set off sometimes. Instead of continuing to tease Forrest —something that was a new and oddly enjoyable experience— she turned her attention to Ash, who was looking hopeful.She'd be at a disadvantage… but didn't that only account for the pokemon? She was more knowledgeable with Water types. As long as she could get her pokemon to listen to her, she should be able to beat Ash."Alright Ash," she said, accepting the challenge and causing Ash to woop with joy.They both released their Squirtles and Misty's shot her a worried look when it saw who its opponent was. Misty knelt next to it. "Hey, don't worry, this is just a friendly match. We're just getting familiar with you both."She leaned in closer. "Also, I'm a better trainer than Ash!" she said giving Squirtle a wink. "I need you to follow what I tell you to do in the coming match, alright? Do that and we'll win!"Squirtle nodded dubiously, eying its former leader, who had donned some sunglasses to style on its friend.Misty's Squirtle gulped and Misty patted his shell. "Just remember this is about teamwork more than anything!" she said, standing and locking eyes with Ash."Alright! We're ready!"Forrest raised his hands. "The Squirtle showdown begins… now!""Water Gun!" Ash said predictably."Use Withdraw into Rapid Spin!" Misty ordered causing the Water Gun to wash harmlessly over her Squirtle as it retracted into the shell and spun into Ash's squirtle. Ash's pokemon went flying and Misty punched forward. "That's the spirit Squirtle!""Uhhh! Squirtle use Tail Whip!" the curly tail whipped around and slapped into Misty's pokemon causing it to pop out of its shell in surprise. "Good, now Tackle!"Misty blanched. "Use Hydro Pump!" she ordered only for her Squirtle to shoot her a confused look. Shoot! Of course! It was too weak to know that move! She should have borrowed Ash's pokedex before the match!Both pokemon traded blows with Misty's Rapid spin meeting Ash's uses of Water gun on the ground before charging back in with Tackle. Eventually, both pokemon stumbled away from each other before going belly's up as they fell unconscious.Forrest inspected them both and raised his hands. "Both Squirtles are unable to battle! It's a tie!"Misty facepalmed. She really needed to learn what moves her pokemon had! Ash likewise seemed stunned to have drawn with Misty."What! No way! My pokemon was still up for half a second longer!"Forrest shook his head. "It wasn't and that wouldn't count anyway. Official rules are that a pokemon has to stay up for the count of five for it to be a clean win."Ash threw up his hands in annoyance. "Well, nice fight, Misty!""You too Ash," Misty replied.Forrest offered them both some potions and they sprayed their pokemon over before continuing to walk. Ash had his head tucked in. "I can't believe I lost to a trainer with less badges than me!"Misty felt her eyebrow twitch. "I won't have less badges than you for long!"Ash shook his head. "That won't be the case at all; see, I'm one ahead, and as we move around, I'm going to stay one ahead."Misty raised a finger before she realised he was right. She felt a horrible jolt run through her, like Pikachu had just shocked her. Ash… was right? She shuddered but shut her mouth. Forrest chuckled. "Well there will be other Gym's to fight along the way, like the minor ones, if you want to get more badges."Ash rubbed his chin at that before nodding. "That sounds good! Where are they?"Forrest babbled away for a bit and Misty let her attention shift thinking over the match. Had there been other ways to win that she hadn't used? Most likely. She sighed. "I think I need to spend some more time training my pokemon."Forrest huffed in amusement. "Well you'll both get the chance to work on your pokemon soon. We're coming up to the next town for a training break.""I still say we could have kept fighting all those trainers around Vermillion Gym!" Ash said angrily."We fought enough of them," Forrest said only for Ash to continue grumbling.Forrest sighed. "Ash you were starting to lose more matches than you were winning." He indicated the town. "We're only a day's walk away from Vermillion. We'll boot camp it and then come back for your third badge and our second." Forrest glanced at Misty. "Are you going to … want a training buddy?" he said somewhat hopefully.Misty shook her head firmly, her conviction firming up."No I'll do some training on my own!" she said. She was feeling better about herself these days. More confident. She couldn't lean on Ash or Forrest all the time!She hadn't challenged Pewter for their Gym badge, but she had stood up against her sisters and beaten them to claim her first badge alongside Forrest. Ash got his second, which annoyingly let him lord it over her and Forrest… for the moment. She knew he'd get his wake up call soon enough, though.For now, she needed to get as strong as she possibly could for fighting something that was specifically one of her chosen type's greatest weaknesses. An Electric specialist.She had Starmie, Staryu, Goldeen, and now Squirtle. She had the makings of a good team, but she needed to spend a good deal of time working on her last three pokemon. Starmie was currently her most powerful, but she couldn't just rely on him to make it through the challenge she'd chosen.She was going to do this the right way. This time she was going for the Gauntlet Challenge instead of a straight one on one."So where are we going to set up to train?" Misty asked.Forrest consulted a booklet. "The Vermillion Gym uses a rubberised matting for its Gym surface during badge challenges. This makes it easy for certain pokemon to move about and for electricity to only impact the pokemon it is aimed at. With no raised terrain, it is going to be tougher to dodge electric attacks as most pokemon will be the tallest point for lighting to reach.""Hmmm, does that stop moves like dig?" Ash said, showing the strange insight that he occasionally exhibited. Forrest grunted in annoyance at that, and they all traded thoughts on tactics that might or might not work only for Ash to gasp suddenly."Woah! Hang on! What's that!" Ash said pointing out to sea where there was a shimmering sparkle that was dancing about in the air.Misty squinted, having to shade her eyes to see that they weren't just shapes but pokemon. "Are those… Butterfree?" Misty said incredulously.Forrest began flicking through screens on his transceiver. After a few moments, he coughed. "The local area appears to overlook some cliffs that run out into the sea. At certain times of each year, bug trainers gather with their Butterfree and release them to allow them to find a mate.""Oh Wow! We should go!" Ash said.Forrest grimaced. "I… wouldn't suggest that Ash.""Why not?""Because then you'd lose your Butterfree as he'd have to go off and mate. Most of the time the Butterfree don't come back, as while they're mating, they become sitting farfetch'd to certain bird pokemon. They have to do it in huge swarms to have the best chances but the swarm we're looking at is actually the last day's grouping. These are mostly the last, desperate Butterfree. Most of them will give up if they don't find a mate and return."Ash worked his jaw. "I… don't want to give up my butterfree but… I feel like he should take part…"Forrest clapped him on the shoulder. "There's always next year. Most Butterfree live for three or four years… most of the time.""That short?!" Ash and Misty said in surprise. That was tragically short as far as pokemon went! Most pokemon averaged at least twenty!Forrest merely shrugged. "You've never spent any time with a dedicated bug-type specialist, have you?" Ash and Misty shook their heads. "Well, it takes a special sort to stay one. Usually they make sure to only get certain longer-lived types like Heracross, Scyther, or Forretress, as otherwise, within four years they have to replace their entire main roster of pokemon. It can take its toll on them. But they can also be the most… nice people you've ever met. They learn to live more in the moment." Forrest stared off at the swarm of Butterfree for a long while.Forrest almost seemed older as he looked at the swarm. "I… never really considered what that meant for some of the local kids when Brock mentioned it but having my own pokemon now I… don't think I could ever do that."What Forrest was mentioning… it wasn't something she considered all that often. She hadn't spent any time with kids that liked bug pokemon in Cerulean growing up. "Did you know a few people like that?" Misty said." Yeah, I did… at least I did until I became friends with…" He made a tossing gesture and sighed. "I really was a brat back then…""Well, you're really growing up and maturing these days!' said Ash with a nod that he must have thought made him look wise and all-knowing.Misty shot him an annoyed look. She glanced at Forrest and caught him looking at her. His eyes twitched a little, and she shot him a smile. Maybe he'd rolled his eyes? It was tough to judge with how narrow his eyes were. Still, it seemed the right response, as he smiled before leaning over and punching Ash in the shoulder."I'm not too mature to not beat you in a race to town! Come on! Last one there buys lunch!""Hey! Wait a—" Ash called only to suddenly eat dust as Misty took off. She'd been expecting that, and she was quick to catch up and beat Forrest into town, leaving Ash as the one to buy their lunch."Pikachu!" cried Pikachu at her heels, more than happy to ditch Ash and come with her.She slapped the sign that welcomed them into the town of Porta Vista._______________________________Misty couldn't place her finger on why, but she didn't much like Porta Vista. She should, by all rights, greatly enjoy it. It was a seaside town.That alone made it hands down better than a large number of other places. She could see a number of water types happily frolicking around on the beach and out in the ocean. In more than a few places, trainers were even gearing up to swim out and catch themselves a water type.Perhaps that was the issue?With the surge, there were a large number of tourists, and the town seemed to have converted itself to cater to the temporary source of income. Tacky stalls with 'handcrafted' goods were almost on every corner, and a lot of produce was being sold in markets for trainers, at what were really higher fees than normal.It felt like the town had sold out, but having not grown up here, she couldn't really judge if that was true or not.She didn't like the number of watercraft roaring to life up and down the main port, however. Not a one of them had the traditional sail that was more gentle on the water and the pokemon within; instead, outboard motors that roared through the water and often injured or even maimed water types, were in use. It made for a chaotic scene in what should have been the heart of the town.With all the engine noise and the hustle and bustle, it seemed like everyone was in a rush.Ash, of course, jumped straight into a pokemon battle with some trainers while Forrest officiated. Misty… had had enough of pokemon battles for a while. She knew she had a serious battle in Surge coming up, but that didn't mean she needed to fight. She needed to consolidate.So instead of sticking with her travelling partners, she instead walked around the town and then away from it. She didn't want noise and clamouring locals, she wanted to find a quiet beach.She walked along the coast and instead of a calm serenity coming over her by being closer to her favourite place, she got mad.The beaches she passed were the sites of parties, battles, and general pollution.In the end, she'd gotten into a screaming match with a group over how they'd been partying only to throw their trash into the water! Honestly, the nerve of people to just dump their trash like that! Did they want a buildup of Grimer and Muk in the area? Then no one would get to enjoy the beaches!She'd gotten them to pick up after themselves, but they'd still left a lot of other junk around."That's not ours!" They sneered as they marched off."Yeah, clean it yourself if you care that much!" shouted another of the group.Misty glowed after them. "People like you deserve to live in a junkyard!" she called after their backs. She'd then glared at the junk they'd left behind. There was plastic, and beachballs, and empty broken coolers… and ugh! Cigarette butts!She looked around at the trees and the shoreline. It didn't look like much had gone out to the ocean yet… she thought she heard a splash out in the water but when she looked she couldn't see anything. She turned back to the rubbish with a troubled expression.She huffed and released her team. "Alright team! Training for today is going to be on hold until we clean up this beach!""Squirtle?" said her latest pokemon. Misty smiled at it genially. "This isn't something I usually do but I used to do with my sisters before they became…" She glanced around for anyone to overhear her. "Stuck up bitches!" she said with a whisper.Squirtle giggled with her, and she looked at Starmie and Staryu. "You two have done this before, so I want you to show Goldeen and Squirtle what needs doing, alright?"Her starfish pokemon bowed and got to work. Misty opened her carry bag and pulled out some garbage bags before reaching for the first bit of trash."You should use a stick to pick up the rubbish," said a voice, causing Misty to flinch and almost cut herself. She turned and found an older woman standing behind her. She had red hair that was done up in a bun at the top of her head. She wore a sarong with her bikini top so casually Misty wanted to hate her just for existing.She was… rather pretty in that oh-so-casual way that Misty just knew meant this woman had never not been beautiful. She'd never had to work for it. Never tried on dresses only to be jeered at by older girls.She also looked very familiar. "Don't I know you?" Misty said.A flicker of fear swept over the woman's face before she coughed. "I think we've met before?" she said. Misty eyed the red hair."Oh! I know you!" Misty said with a snap of her fingers. She smiled happily as the woman slid her hand down to her sarong. "Weren't you that woman selling berries in Pewter city!"The woman stopped, and Misty got the feeling she was blinking. Then she straightened up. "Yes! That's me! You remember that?"Misy nodded. "My pokemon were glowing with energy for the next week after those juices!""Oh, good," said the woman with a lame nod. She fidgeted and then coughed. "You should use a stick to pick up trash, by the way. There is a risk of infection from picking it up by hand. You might cut yourself."Misty laughed sheepishly. "Oh, thanks; I don't have a trash stick, though?"The woman huffed and marched over to a tree. She eyed the tree for a moment before releasing a pokemon. It was a Zubat. "Zubat, I need two sticks. Use Wing Attack on that branch." She then proceeded to cut down a branch and make up two sticks without any issue. She even made a sharp tri-prong on the ends She handed one stick over to Misty."Thanks! I'm Misty by the way!""I… knew that," said the woman, causing Misty to blush."Oh right, I probably introduced myself back then, didn't I?" Misty scratched the back of her head. "I… forgot your name though."The woman stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged and stabbed a pile of trash. "Jessadia."Misty nodded and started working with her team and Jessadia's pokemon, an Ekans and her Zubat, to clean up the beach. Between them all, they had the beach cleaned up in a half an hour.Misty clapped her hands together. "And there we go! That's all the things on the beach done with!""Goldeen!" called out her Goldeen as it tugged in another bag of trash. Misty smiled and waded out to collect the netting and other bits of trash."And that takes care of the stuff nearby in the ocean." She piled it up next to the beach trash. Jessadia blinked at it."That's… more than we picked up." she said, pointing out the difference in sizes and how there was far more trash in the pile Goldeen had brought in.Misty sat and sighed. "There's a lot more out there as well. People don't realise how much of the rubbish they throw away ends up in the ocean. It comes from the storm drains into the rivers and from the rivers into the oceans… Despite the Rangers doing a great job at policing it, there are still so many people out there doing the wrong things.""Huh," said Jessadia, moving to sit next to Misty. "I never thought of the ocean like that."Misty sighed. "Yeah, it's a shame too, cause if we look after it, it can be really beautiful."She glanced around at the much cleaner beach and waterline. Jessadia nodded slowly as her Ekans moved up and rubbed its head against her while her Zubat spoke with Staryu.Misty turned her attention to the other woman. "What brought you out here anyway?"Jessadia opened and shut her mouth a bit. She didn't seem sure what to say. Misty was almost worried for a second, before a sad cry had her looking out to the water where she spotted a water type."Hor-sea!" cried out a tiny, Horsea."Horsea?" Misty said back, standing and walking up only for the little seahorse pokemon to swim back. "Oh, sorry." Misty kept her distance and knelt down to help let Horsea feel safer. Misty raised a hand to Jessadia who'd stood to join her. "Just stay still, please. This Horsea is injured and I need to let it get comfortable with me if I want to help it."Jessadia started to rise as if to ignore Misty, only to pause and sit back down. "Alright," she replied simply.Misty nodded and then raised an imploring hand to the little pokemon. "Hey there, Horsea, there's no need to be scared. We're not scary people. Jessadia and I are good guys," she said, ignoring a slight cough from Jessadia. Bad timing that.Horsea slowly approached, and Misty tried to exude the idea that she was safe. That she meant no harm to Horsea, or indeed anyone. Horsea relaxed and came in to nudge at Misty's hand. Misty smiled warmly and grabbed a potion bottle. "Here, let me help you out.""Use a light dabbing motion for any scratches." Jessadia called from the shoreline. "Then use light squirts of the potion into the wounds for the best result. If you can, keep Horsea from going underwater as well for a minute or two to let the potion work."Misty nodded. She knew all of this as a water specialist, but it was good to hear Jessadia knew how to look after pokemon. Horsea was soon chirping contentedly and much more energetic. Misty beamed as Horsea sped around the beach and even played with Goldeen and Ekans as the trio swam through the water."That got her in better spirits!"Jessadia nodded. "It does beg the question of how she got like that though." She looked out at the ocean. "There doesn't seem to be any other humans around, and with her timid nature, I doubt she's reckless. Which can only leave other pokemon…"Misty hummed, turning back to the happy trio. "Horsea? Can I ask you something?""Sea?" said the little pokemon as it swam up to her.Misty beamed at it. "Your injuries. How did you get them?"Horsea tucked into itself and became small, only to eye Misty and Jessadia before nodding. It then turned and began to fire off bursts of ink into the water. Misty frowned as more and more shapes began to take form. "That's… a lot of Tentacool…" she said hesitantly."Is Horsea trying to warn us there is a group of Tentacool out there?" Jessadia said with frown."Horsea!" said the Horsea nodding its head quickly. It then made large motions with its little fins. Jessadia blinked and Misty tilted her head in surprise."A big group?" Horsea nodded and began to continue sweeping its fins out wider and wider. "A very, very big group?""Seeeeeeeeea!" Horsea shouted while stretching as wide as it could go."Tenta!" cried out a pair of Tentacool that suddenly popped up out of the water.Misty and Jessadia shrieked in surprise only to relax. "Oh, its just two of them!" Jessadia said. When the Tentacool rose up aggressively, Jessadia sniffed. "Ekans! Go and use Bite!"Misty almost told her goldeen to commit to the attack as well, only to notice how beaten up the Tentacool were! "Stop!" Misty shouted, causing Ekans to lurch to the side and the Tentacool to stiffen.Jessadia stood on the beach. "Misty! Those pokemon might attack you!""No! they're just injured! I think a boat ran them over!" She once more offered her hand out. "Please don't fight! If you're hurt I… I mean, we can help you!" Misty said.The Tentacool glanced at each other, and Misty saw a glow forming around their eyes. Her pokemon team closed in around her but Misty continued to lock eyes with the Tentacool. "Please don't fight," she said trying to once more be a calming presence. It had worked for Horsea…Slowly, the Tentacools' eyes stopped glowing, and one of them approached her. Up close, she could see a lot more scratches and injuries. "Oh you poor thing," she said, offering her hand to softly rub that jewel of the Tentacool closest to her. It relaxed at her touch and whimpered."Do you have any more potion, Jessadia?" she caleld to her friend."Yeah… I do," Jessadia said. "How are you doing that? Those pokemon were ready to attack a moment ago?"Misty shrugged. "I just spoke with them."Jessadia looked unconvinced, but she slowly waded up, her Ekans and Zubat following her closely.Once again Misty helped the water pokemon, this time with Jessadia's help. Both pokemon brightened up considerably and had an almost cheeky nature with how they danced and poked their tentacles into the other pokemon along with Misty and Jessadia. Misty giggled and turned it into a game of tag which caused her and her new friends to dash throug the water until they were all breathless.It was only then that she noticed one of her new friends was missing. "Oh! Where's the Horsea go? Damn! I was hoping she'd join me!" Misty sat up. "Horsea! It's alright! The Tentacool are friendly now! You're safe!" Misty called only for Horsea to not come back.The Tentacool looked chagrinned. One approached and waved a tentacle at itself. "Tenta!" It then waved limb at the clean beach. "Cool!" it said happily. Misty blinked. "Oh! You think we're good people because we cleaned the beach and want to join us?" she said. Tentacool nodded and Misty happily held out a pokeball that it tapped, allowing itself to be absorbed.Jessadia blinked when the other Tentacool approached her. "Eh!? You think I'm good too?" she said. Tentacool nodded firmly and Jessadia got a conflicted look on her face. "What if I'm not?" Tentacool shook its head and offered up its limb. Jessadia drew out a pokeball and tapped it, causing Misty to giggle with how worried Jessadia was. She really was overthinking it.She then looked around hopefully for the Horsea. When it didn't appear, she sighed. "Oh well. Maybe if I stick around and train, she'll come back?"Jessadia pocketed her pokeball and shot Misty a smile. "Mind if I join in?"Misty grinned at her new friend and fellow Tentcool trainer. "Sure thing!"They then spent the rest of the afternoon training their pokemon and brainstorming methods to beat Surge."— going to have it a lot easier than I will with your Ekans. Zubat and Tentacool will have a tough time of it," Misty said as they continued to walk back to Porta Vista.Jessadia hummed. "I also have… another option but he's… sometimes unreliable…""You have another pokemon?" Misty asked."... yeeeeeeees?" said Jessadia. "He's able to punch far above his weight class, but he's not motivated to fight unless I really need it.""Hmmmm sounds like he needs more training then," Misty said with a firm nod. "My grandpa had a Gyarados that he said we could train with but my sisters always got worried when I spent time with him. Which is silly cause he never had any problems following my orders…" Misty paused as she remembered all the silly games of princess and the dragon she'd played growing up with her Grampy's Gyarados.Jessadia snorted. "Yeah, I don't think that will go over well with him. But anyway I couldn't do that to him. He's my friend for all that he's a snarky little S oh B."Misty giggled before shrugging, "Well, we're still left with the issue of being at a disadvantage."Jessadia shrugged, causing her chest to bounce and Misty's eyes to dip to the woman's assets. "Well, I think I can teach Zubat Steel Wing, which I've seen used to great effect, to mitigate a lot of damage. Otherwise, I will rely on Ekans, I think.""Urgh some people have all the luck," Misty muttered, staring straight at Jessadia's chest enviously."I'm sure you'll come up with something for your team of water pokemon. Your Squirtle looked good out there." She then caught Misty glaring at her chest and cocked an eyebrow. Misty shot her head in another direction, mortified that she'd been caught like that, especially with her new friend. The older woman had been nothing but kind to her."Misty… no one makes you feel bad about yourself, do they?"Misty shifted. And Jessadia got closer. "You mentioned travelling with some boys. They don't tease you, do they?" There was an intensity to the look Jessadia was giving her, as though she was promising something sinister to the boys if they had done anything untoward.Misty shook her head. "No! Ash and Forrest are fine! Forrest is a gentleman even! It's… urgh, my sisters! Those! Those … cows never had a bad hair day, let alone an awkward phase in their lives! I'm just growing into myself! That's all!"She kicked a rock angrily into a tree. "At least… that's what my mother used to say…""Ah," Jessadia said as they walked into Porta Vista. "She was wrong to tell you that."Misty rounded on Jessadia ready to spit venom at her for daring to besmirch her mother's words, only for what Jessadia said next to floor her, "She should have just told you you're beautiful the way you are."Misty gaped. "That!" She glanced away. "She did say that as well," she said quietly, somehow that didn't seem as important as the offer of at least hope that she'd be pretty."Good. I hope she also told you to stop listening to other people about how you should or shouldn't look. Just do what makes you happy." Jessadia looked off into the distance. "If you let others tell you how to live your life, you'll never enjoy anything about yourself. Don't let what they say stop you. Do what you want! Even if it's to be a nurse in a pokemon school for example!""A nurse in a pokemon school?" Misty said with a tilt of her head.Jessadia coughed and flapped her hand back and forth. "Just an example!" she said hurriedly."The point is, have a think about who Misty is. What's important to Misty? Keep those things, and then build from there. It'll make you… more you, if that makes sense?"Misty tilted her head and stared at Jessadia. "...Yeah. Yeah, I think it does. Thanks!""Hey! Misty!" shouted Ash waving and grinning like the idiot he was. At his side, Forrest shot her a smaller but more heartfelt smile. Ash jumped up and down. "Misty I won a ton of pokemon battles today! Come get dinner! My treat!"Misty giggled. "I'll be right with you!" She then turned back to Jessadia. "Thanks for today! I really enjoyed spending time with you! And also… thanks for the talk. Good luck with your own prep for Surge! I'll be cheering for you if I see you!" Misty then turned and ran up to Ash and Forrest."Hey guess what I did today!" she said, excited to tell her friends what she'd been up to.Jessadia waved and watched her go, a small smile on her face.Jessie opened the door to the hotel room to find James and Meowth watching television. James had a facemask on, while Meowth had a number of small rollers throughout his fur. A bowl of chips sat between them as they watched a movie.They both grinned at Jessie's arrival. "Hey! Long time no see! What happened to scoping out the twerp that you saw off on her lonesome?" Meowth said.Jessie opened and shut her mouth before shaking her head. "I… nevermind that, it ended up being a dead end," Jessie claimed a chair and leaned back.Meowth and James shared a look. "You alright, Jessie?" James asked, carefully testing the waters.Jessie nodded but didn't say anything. James and Meowth shared another look. Then they played a fast game of fire-water-grass type. Meowth won with fire against James' grass.James coughed and turned back to Jessie, who was ignoring their antics, to catch up on the movie. So what if she'd seen this one fifty times with them already? It was the team's favourite."Jessie, things have been going well. Meowth and I were surprised when you decided to go after one of the twerps like that. We're following the boss' orders by blending in.""Yeah, and we're good at it!" Meowth chimed in.James nodded. "Indeed. Why risk it with something like that?"Jessie shifted. "Just wanted some insurance, alright?"James and Meowth shot her unimpressed looks.Jessie didn't meet their gazes. "Alright, I'm just worried about us getting caught out and needing to go back on skills we're not practicing! So I checked out Misty and saw how she was going. She has rare pokemon as well but…""Misty huh?" Meowth said with a raised eyebrow."Oh! Shut up!" Jessie said."We don't need insurance, Jessie. We've got that and more with your recent wins.""I'm just…" Jessie ran her hand over her new pokeball that housed the Tentacool that thought she was… Jessie slumped. "What if I mess this up?"Meowth and James once more shared a look. This time sitting up and paying her much more serious attention."You're not going to mess up Jessie." Meowth said with a thumbs up. "I'll have your back if you need a professional ring in, don't worry!" Jessie smothered a smile as James nodded along."Also? Who cares if you fail? We've come back from worse than nothing before! We're team Rocket! We blast off!" James announced, miming a rocket ship."Master's of improv!" Meowth announced.Jessie smiled. Oh, these pair of idiots.James grinned at her and stood. "Been a while since we said it you know?" He waggled his eyebrows. "You want to do the honours?"Jessie huffed and rubbed her nose. Then she stood and clenched her fist like they'd practised so many years ago."Prepare for trouble!" she said as James stood to join her, facemask and all, and not a hint of shame to be found between them."And make it double!" said James, matching her."To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie remembered how she'd cleaned the beach with Misty today."To unite all peoples within our nation!""To denounce the evils of truth and love!" She'd done that with Misty as well, she thought as her grin grew wider.James responded with a more hyped up sweep of his arms and a gleam in his eyes. "To extend our reach to the stars above!""Jessie!""James!""Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!""Surrender now or prepare to fight!""Meowth! That's right!" shouted Meowth as he joined them.They held the pose for a little bit. Then they shared a smile and sat down to watch the rest of the movie together. Meowth offered Jessie the chips, and she relaxed back. Everything seemed to be going well.She nodded. Yeah, she wasn't sure why she was bothered. She could handle anything the world threw at her. She gave Meowth and James a small look of gratitude."So what are we doing tomorrow?" she asked when the movie ended.Meowth stretched. "James and I found out about some rich bigwig is going to hold a town meeting tomorrow. She's gonna set up a bounty or something. I say we attend and make some money yeah?"Jessie considered it. It sounded like free money. She nodded, liking the sound of that. Yeah, what could go wrong?
129
Misty awoke with a loud yawn and a stretch. She smacked her lips and blinked away the sleep of the night to glance around the room. Forrest was still in the bed across the room from her. Ash's bed was atop Forrest as the top bunk, but despite that Ash was only half in the bed.Since Pewter City, he'd been trying to get into the habit of waking up early to train with his team. It was very hit-and-miss these days. Most of the time, it depended on Forrest."Urgh, five more minutes Brock!" said Forrest as he turned over in his sleep."Mum! No! Don't wash those! They're collectibles!" said Ash in response.Misty giggled and hopped up. One of the perks of not falling into the boy's schedule was that she usually got the first call on the shower. She made sure to place a pillow over Pikachu to muffle the noise before traipsing into the shower, turning it on, and then slamming the door. The lock clicked, and she sighed in contentment."Hmmm, it must be time to wash my hair," she said to herself as she heard the boys rouse from their sleep. Ash then promptly tried to get in to use the toilet. "Go use the public toilets!" she shouted back at him, causing him and Forrest to scamper off.She relaxed and enjoyed herself.When she was done, she pointed out that both of the boys needed a shower themselves after all the running around and then told them to meet her at a nearby cafe. "Come on Pikachu!" she said, scooping the little mouse up with her before she gave him a sniff. "Actually… maybe you should stay with Ash…""Pika!" he said in shock.Misty raised a hand and bowed her head. "You did a lot of work yesterday! I'm sure! It's just that you need some care as well!" She reached into her bag and handed him a small travel-sized shampoo and conditioner bottle. "Here use this; my sisters might be the worst, but they have the best beauty products!" She winked conspiratorially. "I stole it! Use it when you're in the shower."Pikachu accepted the bottle and scampered after Ash. Misty turned and set off for the cafe she'd noticed yesterday, only to notice, on approach, that a familiar face was already there and sipping on what looked like coffee."Hey! Jessadia! Good morning!"Jessadia looked up blearily. "Hmmm? Oh… it's you, hey…" Her eyes flickered to the other people with her. There was a blue-haired man in a fedora and heart-shaped sunglasses, and a Meowth. Why was this ringing bells? The Meowth lapped at a mug of milk with an odd smirk… but then again, that was the face of most Meowth."Uhm hello there?" Misty said. "Remember me, I'm Misty?" she said to the still-blinking Jessadia.Jessadia smiled a little more. "Sorry kid, I have trouble without at least two coffees in me."The blue-haired man snorted. "Please! You can barely call this coffee!" The man glared at the server. "I can hear you torturing that poor coffee machine! You aren't meant to make the milk scream like that! You kiss it with air, not torture it!" He took a sip of his drink, and his lip curled in disgust. "Honestly, Jess, I can't see how you drink that!"Jessadia turned to her friend. "Forget him, he's a snob about this. As long as it's black and gets me going in the morning, I'm fine with it." She then took a large gulp of her black coffee."Snrk!" said the Meowth into his milk, while the blue-haired man giggled loudly.Jessadia shot them a reproachful look. "Oh, do grow up!""You said it, not me!" said the man. He then directed a charming smile at Misty. "I'm Franko, a traveling freelance photographer and cafe pokenet critic.""Oh?" Misty tilted her head. Was that an actual job? "How do you make money off that?""Oh, advertising mostly," said Franko without missing a beat, only to shudder as Jessadia took another loud slurp of her coffee."Anything good on the menu?" Misty asked to make small talk while she waited for the boys and Pikachu to join them. When they did, Franko somehow grew a moustache… Or Misty must not have noticed it when she approached. Yeah, that made more sense.Pikachu and Meowth got into a strange staring contest for a while before Pikachu flicked his head and a stray breeze rippled through his extremely shiny fur. Meowth had gaped and leaned in to brush his paw through his own fur. It wasn't as glossy. He then returned to staring at how soft and fluffy Pikachu now was. Misty giggled; it was cute watching the pair of them act like that.When the boys had ordered, Misty sat close to the other group. Ash tilted his head. "How'd you two become friends again?" he said in that clueless way that let Misty just know that Ash hadn't been listening for the last half an hour.Misty rubbed her forehead. Urgh, how to describe this in a way Ash would get it? She considered grunting a little and saying something like, Ugh, me misty go beach, clean beach with nice girl, make good chat, catch pokemon together, ugh! Buuuuuut she knew that all Ash would get from that was that they'd each caught a new pokemon."We both caught a Tentacool together.""Oh," said Ash, only to pause and tilt his head. "I think I've heard of that before? Does that make you Tentacool sisters?" A server slipped, causing a bunch of glasses to hit the ground, and Franko, Jessadia, Meowth, and Forrest all choked on their drinks.Jessadia shot Ash a furious scowl. "Ugh! No! No, we're not… that!" Franko and Meowth tittered at her reaction. Forrest blushed furiously.Misty frowned, unsure what was going on but knowing it obviously wasn't good. Forrest wouldn't meet her gaze, and Misty got a sneaking suspicion as to why that was. She flexed her fists just in case her intuition was right.Ash, now well-trained, sat back and raised his hands, knowing he needed to apologise for something he'd done. "Sorry, I just thought it made sense!""Well… just don't bring it up again," she said, still not sure what she was reprimanding him for but knowing that she was right to do so.Jessadia shot her an approving nod.Before any more conversation could be had, an electronic shriek ran through the cafe.Everyone grimaced before the speakers returned to a simple drone, indicating they were about to transmit something."Attention, people of Porta Vista! My name is Nastina! You know me for my desire to develop our humble little Town into a proper destination of desire like other major cities these days! Sadly, I have faced a large number of setbacks of late! You may not have heard but a swarm of vicious Tentacool have brazenly begun attacking my peaceful construction of the Nastina Grande Aquatic Resort!"There was a moment of silence for people to process this. "This is going to affect all of us deeply! Without the new resort, the money won't flow into the community like we all want. For construction to continue, we need to deal with the Tentacool that are menacing our shared dream."The server chuckled, and a few other locals rolled their eyes."So! To incentivise the brave citizens and any pokemon trainers of skill and vision! I am going to reward ten thousand pokedollars to those that help me remove the Tentacool menace!"That had everyone in the cafe suddenly giving the loudspeakers in the street much more interest. Misty chewed her lip. It was certainly a lot of money, but… surely the Tentacool weren't just attacking the construction site. That didn't make much sense to her. Tentacool were typically rather calm pokemon."Ten thousand pokedollars! If you wish to partake in this, then report to the town square by ten o'clock sharp! Remember! Ten thousand pokedollars!"A number of people in the cafe checked their watches and stood to make their way out of the shop, only for the chef to come out and remind those that hadn't paid that they still had to. Ash crossed his arms and frowned. "That's a lot of pokedollars…"Franko nodded. "Enough to keep everyone in gravy for a year at least, and to a clever individual, some luck with a shares portfolio, and you can coast by on that for even longer.""So what you're saying is that it would last me a month?" Jessadia said with a wry smile."Precisely!" said Franko.Jessadia nodded, stood, and waved a hand in Misty's direction. "Well, I guess that means we need to head to the town square. Later~" she said only for Misty to stand."You can't honestly be willing to fight all those Tentacool like that, can you?"Jessadia shrugged. "It's not going to be too many of them; I imagine Nastina has a lot of trainers coming with an offer like that."Misty grimaced. That was true. She licked her lips and considered what else she could say. This didn't sit right with her.She was interrupted by the chef snorting loudly. "You're not going to get ten thousand pokedollars. Not from someone like Nastina. She's a pokepenny pincher, always has been, always will be. She might give away ten thousand, sure, but she's not giving away ten thousand to each trainer that takes part. She's merely setting the price and driving up interest."Franko's love heart sunglasses slid down his nose, and Meowth gaped in shock. Jessadia rounded on the man, "You mean to tell me she's swindling us… I mean those people?!"The chef snorted. "One hundred percent guaranteed swindle.""How dare she!" said Jessadia and Franko together. Franko picked Meowth up onto his shoulders and stormed out. Jessadia paused in the doorway. "Misty? You coming? We're going to protest that woman!"Misty opened her mouth, only to have no idea what she should say. A dry wheeze escaped her, and she slumped. "Sure," she said. It wasn't how she would have wanted to get it, but at the end of the day… it was support?"Does anyone else feel like they know those guys?" Ash said as they walked along behind Jessadia and Franko."Never met them before!" Forrest said with a shrug as Misty shook her head.Pikachu facepalmed. "Pika!"The group walked their way into the town square only to find it backed up with little room to move with all the people standing around within. More than a few had already released pokemon and Misty found herself watching a few powerful-looking pokemon such as the Machoke, or Poliwrath flexing at each other as their trainers glared. A few more pokemon were released, and Forrest hissed."This isn't good." Misty shot him a look and he elaborated. "Brock was always saying stuff like packing too many pokemon trainers into any area is a recipe for disaster. With the surge, he has had to increase the patrols for Pewter. I'm not sure who's supposed to be looking after this region but they need Nastina to send out this crowd or deal with a lot of fights breaking out…. Or worse…""Worse how?" Franko said, glancing over at them."I'm not sure. Something about people finding their own trouble…" Forrest glanced aside sheepishly. Misty considered that it sounded right, and if Forrest was quoting Brock, it must have been from experience."Doesn't that mean if we get Nastina to hold off while we investigate, there will be further issues?" Jessadia pointed out.Misty stiffened. "But! No! We still need to see what's causing the Tentacool to act this way!""Maybe we can organise a pokemon tournament to stop them while we investigate?" Ash rubbed his chin and nodded sagely.Misty shot him a look and opened her mouth to shoot him down, only for Forrest, Franko, and Jessadia to nod. "That could work." Misty snapped her jaw shut and turned away. Alright, so Ash could be right occasionally."Let's get through to Nastina!" she said pointing to the stage which had a bunch of men in speedos standing around with small fans waving them in the face of a woman.Misty led the group through the throng of people. On the way, she had to squirm, squeeze, and slip through the press of bodies. She kept her eyes straight ahead on the podium throughout it all. She really didn't want to know what she touched on the way through. There'd been soft bits and hard bits and just… she shuddered and checked on Ash and Forrest, who had green expressions, while Pikachu patted Ash on the head.Alright, she really didn't want to know what she'd pushed through now. Franko emerged, leading an outraged-looking Jessadia."Hirsute doesn't cover it! That man was a Slaking in disguise, I swear!" she said with a growl.Ash and Forrest shuddered, and Misty discreetly wiped some black hair off her shoulders. She did not want to know."Alright, we're here!" Misty said, marching around the side of the podium to find a rather short, old woman with pigtail hair being fanned by yet more men in speedos."Eh? What gives? You trainers that can't wait for the order to move out, eh? I like your enthusiasm!"Misty bowed hurriedly and adopted an apologetic tone. "I'm terribly sorry, but actually I'm a water type specialist, and I happen to know a thing or two about Tentacool having grown up around the waters of Cerulean, you see?"Nastina raised a dubious, unwaxed eyebrow, "And?""Well, Tentcool wouldn't act like this, you see? Not unless something of theirs was being threatened? The hotel must have disturbed something in its construction!""The hotel disturbed nothing! I purchased that land and have been developing it for my purse!" Nastina said only to twitch, "I mean! For the purpose of developing Porta Vista!" she said. Franko and Jessadia shot her flat looks, while Misty continued to smile apologetically."But perhaps we can talk with them instead of attacking them?""No! This has been going on for months now! I might have been willing to entertain them back then, but this ends now!" Nastina stood and shoved her cane in Misty's face. "And no environmentalist is going to get in my way!""But—""NO BUTS!" snapped Nastina. She glared at the others. "Are you all a bunch of environmentalists looking to get in the way of progress? Eh?!" she said with a jerk of her chin.Misty swallowed and was about to open her mouth when Jessadia stepped forward. "Actually, we're professional exterminators, you could say!" She stepped forward, and Misty felt her heart lurch in betrayal.Franko followed Jessadia with a smooth step. "Indeed! You see, this isn't just a problem, but an opportunity! You're only clearing out a troublesome group of pokemon when you could be doing so much more!"Misty couldn't believe them! She gaped and clenched her fists as Nastina considered Jessadia and Franko. She nodded her head. "You… you are someone I can work with; come talk with me." She gestured for them to follow her into a tent around the side as the men wearing speedos began to push Misty, Forrest, and Ash away."Hey! Watch where you're touching!" Misty said, glaring at the pair as they walked away with Nastina.As Jessadia entered the tent, the older woman turned and locked eyes with Misty. She winked, and Misty stiffened. What did that mean? Was Jessadia just playing with her all this time, like her sisters sometimes would?Urgh! It just goes to show that you should never trust older women!They always disappointed her!Misty broke away from the insistently pushing men and growled. "Alright! We're going!" she said marching to the edge of the crowd. "Well, that didn't go so well," she admitted, slumping her shoulders.Forrest patted her back. "Don't worry, with this many trainers, it most likely will just have the Tentacool fading back. That's what Geodude and Onix do when too many trainers gather together."Misty sighed and shot Forrest a halfhearted smile. "Forrest, Tentacool aren't like Geodudes and Onix. That might have been the case if this were a swarm of Goldeen or even Starmie. Tentacool are known as gangsters of the sea, and they're not going to back down. It will be a fight.""Guess it will depend on how many trainers there are and how many Tentacool there are," Ash said with a nod."If people get in danger, I can call Surge." Forrest raised his transceiver."If people get in danger!?" Misty bristled. "People are the ones causing this problem!"Forrest raised his hands. "I just meant people that weren't involved… You're right! This is something that people like Nastina are stirring up.""Not like! This is Nastina herself!" Misty slammed a fist into her palm. "We need to find a way to stop her! Maybe we can see if she did anything illegal!"Forrest rubbed his chin. "I think I remember something about when Brock was building the Gym about lodging a complaint to the league if the facility impacted local pokemon… But that's only possible to be addressed before the building is completed. Once it's done the League is a lot less bothered… What if she was trying to force this through before the building inspectors were due to come?"Mist danced on the spot. "That will work! Do you know anyone in the League? We can call them—" Sadly, whatever plan Misty was coming up with was disrupted by Nastina herself stepping up onto the stage with Jessadia, Franko, and her gaggle of fit men in speedos."Thank you, thank you! No need to cheer! Thank you!" said the horrid little woman. "Thank you for gathering so quickly! For those of you asking, I have the money available once the job is complete!"She shot them all a smirk before coughing. "Now! I expect to see the waters around my hotel clear of the Tentacool menace so construction can finish!" She waved a hand towards a group of builders who looked annoyed and were standing around with Machoke.Misty grinned. Forrest had been right; she was trying to force it through before the League got involved. She leaned over to him. "Forrest! We need to call a League official!"Forrest coughed. "Yeah, about that? I don't know anyone! I know Brock, Sabrina and Surge. And from what I remember, the League aren't quick to assign people. If we're going to do something, we need to stall for time!""—if that fails! We have a backup option!" Nastina said with an evil smirk. She swept her hand to the side, and her boy toys swept aside a sheet that had been trundled out while Misty was talking with Forrest to reveal a lot of barrels with toxic symbols all over them.Misty blinked when a Meowth was revealed along with the barrels. It had something in its mouth with lots of S's all over it."We'll poison them out with this!" Nastina crowed."Tentacool are water-poison types, you idiot!" screamed Misty, only for the crowd to shout and clamour their approval at taking on less risk.Nastina grinned and swept a hand toward the distant water hotel. "With that said! Get to it! Pay will be distributed at the end of the day!"The crowd roared their approval once more and leapt into action, charging towards the beach, where a number of different pokemon were released to dive down or bombard the water. In more than a few cases, friendly fire broke out, and the trainers got into squabbles.Misty growled as the water line became a white, frothy mess as water pokemon were dragged to the top of the water. "We need to do something!" she said through clenched teeth."We already did something," said a silky voice that had Misty whirling about and glaring at its owner."You! You're a traitor!" she spat out towards Jessadia.Jessadia reeled back for a moment before shaking her head. "I am no traitor! I was just going undercover and gaining Nastina's trust.""Along with learning where she kept her cash," muttered Franko. Jessadia punched him into silence, but Misty continued to glare."Yeah? So what? And what are you going to do with that knowledge?"Franko opened his mouth again, only for Jessadia to smother it. "What we're going to do, Misty," she said tightly. "Is sabotage her poison barrels with an agent that will make it so that she doesn't kill off all the non-poison type pokemon around." She raised an empty canister that read 'Super Secret Stun Sauce' along the sides. "This will knock them out instead of killing them."Misty raised a finger and blinked. She hadn't thought about them… She blinked in surprise. "Oh, good idea."Jessadia huffed. "We're not eco-terrorists after all."Franko nodded and said something about 'Magma and Aqua' but Misty ignored him, choosing to swallow the suddenly overwhelming feeling of relief that Jessadia hadn't turned out like… Misty coughed once before speaking, "We worked out what we can do to help stop this, but we need to get the League involved.""I don't think we even have time for that," Ash said, looking out to the ocean.The group, as one, turned their heads only to see a sea filled with red gems… and more were rising up by the moment. The trainers that had started to fight with the various types of water pokemon on the beach and the people out on the water suddenly found themselves in a much more precarious position."Oh dear…" Misty said.Moments later, the trainers responded by releasing every pokemon they had on them. Misty could only watch as the beach became a chaotic mess where trainers scrabbled to send out more and more pokemon and call out orders.For each pokemon that got off an attack, twenty Tentacool returned the attacks."Oh no," Misty said as trainers began to fight each other, and the beach became a frantic bustle to gain room that saw trainers and pokemon spilling over into each other and fouling each other up. All while the Tentacool emerged and began to counterattack, having been stirred into action.Misty felt her heart clench. So many trainers and pokemon were being hurt."Shit! Alright, boys! Fire off the poison!" Nastina shouted as her boys loaded up a barrel of poison into what looked like a catapult that a trio of Machoke had hurriedly made up. Misty could see other Machoke quickly making more even as she locked onto Nastina.Misty ran up and spread her arms out wide. "Stop this! Can't you see that you're just causing more problems by fighting them like this!""Never! I'm not giving up my payday! That's the most important thing in life! Taking what's yours! Learn well, girl! Good girls never end up first!" She chopped her hand, and a barrel was launched. "Load up and fire another!" screamed Nastina.Misty released her Starmie and pointed. "Blast it Starmie!" Starmie fired a powerful Water Gun straight into the catapult causing it to shatter."Hey!" Nastina cried, whirling about to face Misty. "You little brat! You're going to pay for that!"Misty glared at the woman. "First or last doesn't matter when you drag everyone around you down to a level of horrible that is worse than we were before!" Starmie stood tall and Misty prepared herself to fight, only for Ash, Pikachu, Forrest, Franko, and Jessadia to step up beside her."Feh!" Nastina said, pointing to the barrel still falling to the ocean. "One catapult destroyed isn't going to be enough! And no punks or pokemon are going to stop me!"Just as she finished speaking the barrel disappeared behind the crowd near the beach. It went unnoticed by all.What happened next was noticed by all, however, as an explosion of light erupted from the ocean, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look.They could do nothing but look as the light grew, up, and up, and up.And then, when it stopped, a giant was revealed.Misty felt her mouth go dry and her heart hitch as she stared at the titanic figure. She'd thought that some of the pokemon she'd seen at Brock's Gym were big, and to be fair his Onix was huge… but this was taking it to another level.The Tentacruel screeched, and Misty clenched her hands to her ears as pain swept through her. The trainers closer to it on the beach collapsed as blood poured from their ears. The pokemon, seeing their trainers injured, reacted in one of two ways.The first way was to grab their trainer and sprint away from the danger.The second was to turn and unleash anything and everything they had towards the pokemon that had injured their trainer.The Tentacruel responded to this by summoning a gigantic wave of water, easily the largest Surf she'd ever witnessed in her life, to absorb the attacks.Misty watched as some of the pokemon dug deeper. Suddenly, Hyper Beams and powerful Electrical attacks arced forward to blast into the Tentacruel only for it to raise a tentacle and a ribbon of water to form up around its body.Aqua Ring. Misty gaped at the powerful pokemon regenerating in front of her eyes as the pokemon that had attacked it struggled to regather their energy.It was then that the pokemon were reminded that it wasn't just the lone titanic Tentacruel attacking them, as the Tentacool swarmed forward. They rose on another wave that rose with a gesture of the Tenacruel's tentacle.It seemed like the pokemon were now fighting against nature itself.Some of the trainers regathered themselves enough to scream for their pokemon to get out. Pokeballs came out and recalled them.Some of them did so.Other trainers staggered in the face of the onrushing wave, still too dazed or injured to understand what was going on as the wave crashed onto them."Gigantimax…" Forrest said dazedly.Misty glanced at him. "What?"Forrest licked his lips. "That's … that's a Gigantimax… I thought Brock was kidding when he told us stories of pokemon being able to grow so much larger and more powerful though…"Jessadia surged forward and shook Forrest. "You knew about this?""It was just stories! I thought it was Brock telling fanciful stories to Suzie, Bobby, Billy, and Tilly!"Jessadia tsked. "Well, it looks like he wasn't joking. Any way to stop it?""Knock it out?" Forrest said uncertainly. Only for another wave to rise and sweep into the town proper. "Look out!" he shouted, releasing his Onix. "PROTECT!" he shouted as his pokemon curled around them and formed a gigantic protective barrier.The wave crashed into the barrier and was absorbed, taking the danger away from the group but others were still swept up. Misty could see a number of buildings break in the face of the powerful wave.Jessadia swallowed. "I really hope Meowth is alright…""He'll land on his feet, plus he knows how to stay dry, Jess, don't worry!" Franko said, putting a hand on her shoulder as the pair stared into the churning water.Ash blinked. "Oh! You had Meowth tamper with the poison, didn't you!" he said as Pikachu facepalmed.Forrest hurriedly started playing with his transceiver. "Damn it, we need help! What can we… Brock! He'll know what to do!"The transceiver barely had a chance to ring before it connected. "Hi! This is Brock's message bank! I'm busy right now! If you have a me—""Damn it Brock!" screamed Forrest as he tried to call again only for it not to go through again. "Damn it! How can you not answer right now of all times!" Forrest shouted at his transceiver and the image of Brock that was displayed.Jessadia coughed delicately. "With how quickly it timed out I don't think he's in service range right now… that or his transceiver might be disconnected for some reason."Forrest clapped his hands together and inhaled quickly as, around them, the water from the wave began to recede. "Alright! You're right… no point freaking out! I know I'll call Sabrina! She'd come quicker anyway!"He toggled another number, only to get a short. "Leave a message," said a girl's voice with a flat monotone.Jessadia hummed. "Same problem."Ash tilted his head. "It's impressive that you know what it means, when the call doesn't go through like that." Jessadia coughed at that while Franko sniggered something about 'being a telemarketer once'.Misty ignored them, instead her eyes were turned towards the gigantic Tentacruel that was raging at the various pokemon still putting up a fight on what used to be the beach as trainers tried to rescue people and pokemon and get out.She could feel something there. Something that she'd felt once or twice at Brock's Gym.Not… not in the same way, this felt more right.It seemed more like it clicked with her specifically. It didn't feel hard and unmovable, but rather like it was cool and flowing. Like it was the force that connected the world.Misty put a hand to her heart as certainty filled her and the protect shell vanished.Misty stepped forward, clutching at the feeling within her chest. This was just like yesterday with Tentacool. She needed to reach out, connect, and ease the pain. To let the storm calm.She stepped forward as she heard Forrest's transceiver finally connect."Surge! It's Forrest; we need your help right now!" he shouted.Misty didn't listen to what was being said. She just knew she needed to act, or she'd regret this moment for the rest of her life.And so she ran forward, towards the fighting. She moved through the water and even though there were hundreds, if not thousands, of places her foot would sink or slip, she knew where she could walk due some strange feeling of rightnessShe got to the beach in time to hear Forrest scream of fear chase after her as she leapt into the water. It churned around her but Misty wasn't afraid. Not of the water. She kicked hard with her legs and twisted her whole body to propel herself through the water. She saw a number of trainers and pokemon still in the water.She broke through the water and scrambled onto a broken pier that was still poking out of the water line. With a flick of her hands, she released all of her pokemon and gestured back at the water. "Save them," she said simply to her team.All of her team, bar Squirtle leapt into the water. Squirtle stared from her to the titanic Tentacruel with huge eyes. "Squirt!"Misty knelt and put a hand on the little water type's face. The feeling in her heart grew at the touch, and somehow Misty knew what she needed to do after this would come easier. "Thanks for being worried Squirtle, but I'm going to be fine. Those people and pokemon aren't. Please, save them. And trust me once again."Squirtle nodded slowly and stared from her to the Tentacruel. Squirtle toddled into the water, looking back as he did so. Misty turned back to the Tentacruel, that even now was about to step over and enter the city.She knew she had to stop it, if it entered the town proper, there would be no solution that wouldn't be bloody.With the knowledge of what failure would entail, Misty shoved the idea of defeat out of her mind and put her hands to her heart, drawing forth the feeling within.She felt herself connect with the ocean in a way she'd only ever experienced as a dream.She felt the waves, the salt and water. The coral reefs. And the pokemon. Around her, the armada of Tentacool and lone Tentacruel stilled.They all turned their eyes towards her. Misty swallowed her fear and began to speak."PLEASE! STOP THE FIGHTING!"She barely remembered what happened next, it seemed to pass her by in a blur. The pokemon in front of and around her stopped, though. They felt her and her intentions. They spoke not through their words but through their energy.Misty spoke to them, and they listened, when they spoke to her, she listened in turn. Both sides of the equation communicated in a way that was more than just talking.When it was done the Tentacruel swiped a tentacle through the water line, and Misty knew that no more construction would be tolerated beyond that point. That the humans had taken enough.She conveyed her own agreement, and the pokemon nodded before turning and leading the swarm of more than a thousand Tentacool back into the water.The Tentacruel wadded deeper and deeper into the water, but just before its eyes went below the water line, it turned and locked eyes with Misty.It didn't say anything, but Misty knew what it meant.She nodded her head. "We'll remember this as well… Don't worry. I'll make sure they remember."The Tentacruel nodded once more and slowly disappeared into the water.Misty watched it go. Then she swallowed. Her mouth suddenly seemed dry. She turned, only to find a crowd watching her in stunned silence. She could see Forrest staring at her like he'd never seen her before. Ash, Jessadia, and Franko were all gaping at her. In Jessadia's hands a bedraggled Meowth was shivering, a suitcase held in his hands firmly. Misty could see other trainers that had been in the town square.She blinked in surprise, only for Ash to raise his hands and wave at her."MISTY! THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" he shouted.That broke the silence, and before Misty could realise what was happening, she had an entire crowd of people shouting and applauding her name. She smiled widely and waved.Then she heard something heavy hit the pier, and Misty staggered. She turned to see what had hit it only to find a giant of a man standing over her. He had gelled-up blond hair and a megawatt grin. His skin was tan, but with how close he was, Misty could see a number of scars all over his arms.Lt Surge grinned down at her. "Little Miss, I've seen some crazy things in my time, and that just now? Easily top three." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I used to think water-type specialists were all weak woo-woo types." Then he rubbed his chin. "Well apart from your gramps that is…" he shook his head and chuckled.Misty felt her eyebrow twitch. What was a woo-woo type? "You're not very good at complimenting people are you?"Surge chuckled. "I'm a pro," he said, winking at Jessadia, who was standing on the beach and who blinked in surprise. She then looked over her shoulder as though Surge would be hitting on someone else. Misty sighed and shook her head.Surge rolled his shoulders, "But seriously, I ain't never seen someone calm down a rampaging pokemon like that. Never like that. That was impressive as all shit." He stepped back and adopted a serious pose, his heels clicking together and his back going ramrod straight. He swept his hand up into a salute, and Misty stared. She'd never had anyone salute her before."You're a credit to Kanto young Miss!" he said before relaxing. "You seriously impressed me, ask me a favour and I'll think about granting it." He then leaned down and gained a more serious look. "But I'm also going to need a debrief to find out what happened here."Misty swallowed. She got the impression that wasn't going to be an easy process. She glanced to where her pokemon were at work saving people."Maybe after we save everyone in danger first?" she said hesitantly.Surge glanced at the water and nodded. "Right you are!"He stood and inhaled before shouting in a voice that swept over the entire beach. "What are all of you yuppies looking at! A hero?! Damn straight, but there are people in danger! I want people with water pokemon on rescue! I want people with flying types doing search and rescue! Only got pokemon that can walk or crawl? There are wrecked buildings! Get searching!"Misty stared, as Surge took control in what she could only call a 'drill sergeant's voice. It brooked no dissent, and Surge had people running within moments. Only, they didn't run into each other and somehow formed lines and orderly ranks at his urging.Misty found herself caught up in the action of helping out. Surge however, for all his bluster and size, didn't forget about her.Surge swept in a few times over the next few minutes to check in on her as he made sure others were working in certain sectors of the beach. With her water pokemon she dove down to rescue more whoever she could. Lanturn surprised her by being faster than her a few times to reach people, but then again, Surge probably trained his pokemon to be that fast.During a small break where she was floating in the water and regathering her breath, she heard a small trill come from next to her. She turned and found the tiny Horsea from yesterday."Hey there, little one!" The small Horsea lifted its head and tapped into her before looking down at her pokeballs. "Yoooou, want to go with me?"Horsea nodded and Misty blushed. It was strange to be this popular; she'd caught two pokemon in as many days, which was crazy. She raised a pokeball and Horsea lunged into it to take the first spot.She giggled to herself, only to shake her head when Squirtle brought up a bedraggled-looking Arbok. She could celebrate later, she needed to focus.An hour later, once things had settled and as many people were out of danger as they could be, Surge returned. He set out a few seats for Misty and her friends, then grabbed another and sat reverse in it. Then he pointed right at her."Alright, now, talk," he commanded.And talk she did.